Blocking a bank account in modern conditions is a situation that for many equates to a complete loss of financial control. Finding yourself without access to your own funds means losing the ability to pay for medicine, utilities, groceries, or help loved ones. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, the majority of payment transactions today are carried out in cashless form, so the blocking of banking access turns into a serious life crisis, especially in wartime conditions.
Lawyers of the “Repeshko and Partners” Bar Association, at the request of the “FACT” IA editors, explained for what reasons accounts can be blocked, what mechanisms the law provides for, whether there are legal ways to quickly unblock and what should be taken into account in order to respond to such cases in a timely manner.
To find yourself completely without money is probably one of the biggest horrors of any person. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, despite the continuation of the full-scale war, most transactions with payment cards in Ukraine in recent years have been cashless. That’s why, for many ordinary citizens, to find yourself with a blocked bank account is practically no money at the moment. Many have lost their connection with the place of registration due to forced displacement, and not only within the country, so they do not always have the opportunity to receive official notifications, blocking of bank accounts in a timely manner. This can be an unpleasant surprise and quite a hassle.
If your bank account or all accounts are blocked, the first thing you need to do is contact your bank to find out the reasons for the block. Accounts may be blocked by the bank in the following cases:
- There have been no transactions for 12 months (and there is no balance on the account);
- death of the client;
- violation by the client of obligations under the contract with the bank;
- cooperation may lead to financial losses, deterioration of the bank’s image;
- submission of unreliable data by the client;
- using the account not for personal needs;
- the client’s activity is contrary to the law;
- suspicion of illegal payment transactions;
- the result of financial monitoring.
If the bank says that it has nothing to do with the blocking of the account/cards, then the next place where you need to look for the reason is the presence of enforcement proceedings against you and, as a consequence, the seizure of funds on bank accounts. In this case, the site Automated system of enforcement proceedings will come in handy – https://asvpweb.minjust.gov.ua/#/search-debtors. It is on it that you can find out by which executor the enforcement proceedings have been opened against you (private or state), the address of such an executor, contact details and directly the number of the enforcement proceedings. This system is also unique in that, after receiving the corresponding key from the executor, you will have access to all the materials of the enforcement proceedings in electronic form.
If there is an enforcement proceeding against you, you must remember the following. Since April 2023, the Law “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding Certain Features of the Organization of Enforcement of Court Decisions and Decisions of Other Bodies During Martial Law” has been in effect in Ukraine since April 2023, according to which, temporarily, for the period until the termination or abolition of martial law in Ukraine, natural persons – debtors whose funds have been seized by the state executive service bodies, private executors, can carry out expenditure operations (manage) from the current account in the amount that during of one calendar month does not exceed two amounts of the minimum wage established by the Law on the State Budget of Ukraine as of January 1 of the current calendar year, as well as pay taxes, fees without taking into account such a seizure, provided that such a current account is designated for spending transactions. Recovery within the specified amount is not carried out on such an account.
As of January 1, 2025, the amount of the minimum wage is UAH 8,000, but you can dispose of an amount of UAH 16,000 per month. In the event of seizure of funds placed on several current accounts of the debtor in one bank or on current accounts in different banks, only one current account of an individual – the debtor in one bank, from which the specified amount will be disposed of, should be determined for spending operations. At the same time, in the case of several enforcement proceedings against one natural person – the debtor, one current account is determined for all enforcement proceedings for the free disposal of the specified amount. The number of enforcement proceedings does not affect the size of the amount that is not subject to recovery and for which the individual debtor can carry out spending operations. So, even if there are five enforcement proceedings, the same amount of UAH 16,000 will still be available for the order.
The algorithm of actions for obtaining the opportunity to unblock the account in the amount of UAH 16,000 will be as follows. In order to determine such a bank current account, the debtor must contact the state executive service body, the private executor, who imposed a seizure on the debtor’s funds, with a statement about which bank current account he wishes to unblock for spending transactions. The application can be submitted in paper form (on purpose or by means of postal communication) or in electronic form in compliance with the requirements established Law of Ukraine “About electronic documents and electronic document management”. In such a statement, the number of the current account, which the natural person – the debtor requests to be determined for carrying out expenditure transactions, and the name of the bank in which such an account is opened, are specified. At the same time, the natural person – the debtor is responsible for the reliability of the information specified in the application.
The state, private executor within two working days from the day of receiving the relevant application from the natural person – the debtor issues a resolution on determining the current account of the natural person – the debtor in the bank for spending transactions and immediately, no later than the next working day after the resolution is issued. Then the following actions are performed:
- provides/sends the relevant resolution to the bank (service bank);
- verifies the existence of other executive proceedings opened against a natural person – the debtor, and, in the event that other executive proceedings are opened against such a natural person, at the same time provides/sends the relevant resolution to the bodies of the state executive service or to a private executor who carry out enforcement in such executive proceedings. In this case, the current account specified in the relevant resolution is considered to be designated for the implementation of expenditure operations within the limits of other executive proceedings.
It should be noted that the suspension of execution of executive actions or the suspension of executive proceedings is not a reason for refusing to determine a current account for carrying out expenditure operations. Therefore, the same algorithm of actions is used even when the enforcement proceedings are stopped.
Another provision, which was introduced by the same law in April 2023 during the period of martial law, is the suspension of enforcement of pensions and stipends (except for decisions on the collection of alimony, on compensation for damage caused by mutilation, other health damage or death as a result of a criminal offense, and decisions for which debtors are citizens of the Russian Federation).
In addition, the list of funds that cannot be levied has not gone anywhere and remains unchanged. This list includes the following payments:
1) severance pay, which is paid in case of dismissal of an employee;
2) compensation to the employee for expenses in connection with the transfer, assignment to another location or business trip;
3) field support, salary allowances, other funds paid instead of per diem and apartment allowances;
4) financial assistance to persons who have lost the right to unemployment benefits;
5) assistance in connection with pregnancy and childbirth;
6) one-time assistance in connection with the birth of a child;
7) assistance in adopting a child;
8) assistance for children placed under guardianship or custody;
9) child support for single mothers;
10) assistance to persons engaged in the care of three or more children under the age of 16, for the care of a child with a disability, for temporary incapacity for work in connection with the care of a sick child, as well as for other child support provided for by law;
11) assistance for treatment;
12) funeral assistance;
13) monthly monetary assistance in connection with the restriction of consumption of locally produced food products and personal auxiliary economy of citizens living in the territory that has undergone radioactive contamination;
14) subsidies for lunches, purchase of tickets to sanatoriums and rest houses at the expense of the consumption fund.
At the same time, we draw your attention to the fact that recovery is not carried out also from the following amounts:
1) non-taxable amount of material assistance;
2) monetary compensation for issued uniforms and in-kind supplies;
3) severance pay in the event of dismissal (retirement) from military service, police service, and the State Criminal Enforcement Service of Ukraine, as well as non-permanent financial support, and in other cases provided for by law;
4) one-time monetary assistance in case of death (death), disability or partial loss of working capacity without establishing the disability of servicemen, conscripts and reservists who are called up for training (or inspection) and special meetings or to serve in the military reserve;
5) financial assistance related to the free provision of prosthetics (orthosis) to a participant in an anti-terrorist operation, a participant in the implementation of measures to ensure national security and defense, repel and deter armed aggression of the Russian Federation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, who have lost the functional capabilities of their limbs, charitable assistance received by the specified persons, regardless of its size and source of origin.
If a seizure has been imposed on an earmarked account or the account has received funds that are in the specified list, then in order to unlock such funds, the executor must provide the following documents:
- an application in the name of the executor to remove the arrest, indicating the debtor’s RNOKPP and the enforcement proceedings number;
- documents confirming the special status of the account or the payments received. It can be a certificate from the bank about the details of the account, a certificate from the employer, the Pension Fund or another body that makes payments.
However, the circumstances that we mentioned do not in any way deprive the citizen of the main – the enforcement proceedings themselves, because the seizure of funds is a consequence, not the reason for blocking the card/account.
Grounds for removing the seizure from the debtor’s property (funds) in enforcement proceedings are:
- termination of enforcement proceedings on the basis of Article 39 of the Law of Ukraine “On Enforcement Proceedings” (including, for example, the expiration of the period prescribed by law for the corresponding type of collection, except in the case of debt for the collection of relevant payments; actual full implementation of the decision in accordance with the executive document; cancellation or invalidation of the decision on the basis of which the executive document was issued, or recognition by the court of the executive document as unenforceable; and others);
- return of the executive document to the court that issued it;
- receipt to the account of the state executive service body, the account of a private executor of the amount of funds collected from the debtor, necessary to satisfy the demands of all debt collectors, the collection of the enforcement fee, costs of enforcement proceedings and fines imposed on the debtor for the completed enforcement proceedings;
Another possible scenario of blocking an account or bank card is the seizure of funds within the framework of criminal proceedings. Such a case occurs much less often and usually does not affect citizens who are not related to criminal offenses. However, the very fact of the existence of such a risk is important to understand, because sometimes, even within the framework of investigative actions, a person can be involved in the proceedings as a witness or at the stage of checking financial transactions.
Therefore, in a situation where a bank account is blocked, it is important to act consistently: first find out the reason for restricting access, then get official documents or explanations from the bank or authorized bodies, and only after that choose a response strategy. In many cases, promptly contacting a lawyer helps to significantly reduce the time to solve the problem and avoid legal mistakes that can complicate the unlocking procedure.
