In conversations, the word “debanking” is popping up more and more often — this is what people now call situations where accounts and cards are suddenly blocked for what seem to be completely ordinary transfers. We’ve been seeing stories about account freezes for a long time already, but I only heard the term itself quite recently, so I decided to explain in detail what it means and why it’s relevant to almost everyone.
P2P Crypto Exchanges and Law 115-FZ: Who Ends Up at Risk
Most of this story revolves around P2P crypto exchanges and our famous Law No. 115-FZ, which on paper is aimed at combating money laundering and financing suspicious activities. It easily catches even those who simply convert USDT into fiat, without even thinking they are doing something risky.
Imagine this: you’re a freelancer and from time to time you sell your USDT for rubles. For you it’s a normal everyday deal — you got crypto for your work, cashed it out via P2P and spend the money. But for the bank the picture looks completely different. Its anti-fraud systеm doesn’t distinguish between an honest freelancer and a classic cash-out operator — in both cases it sees a similar set of red flags.
How the Bank Sees a “Transit” Client
So what exactly does the bank see? Your card receives transfers from a large number of different people whom you don’t personally know and who are not formally connected to you in any way. You get the money and then almost immediately withdraw it in cash or send it further on to other accounts. For the algorithms this is a typical profile of a “transit” client or even someone who runs shady accounts and helps money move through the chain.
The Risk of “Dirty” Money and a “Tainted” Account
But as it was explained to me, the harshest part isn’t even that you look like a cash-out guy. The main risk is that you might accidentally receive truly “dirty” funds. In other words, you might get a transfer from scammers who have just cleaned out a pensioner’s savings, or money from a deal involving illegal goods. As soon as such a payment lands in your account, the systеm treats it as “tainted” — you automatically become one of the links in a suspicious chain of fund movements.
The First Stage of Debanking: Card Block and Funds Frozen
And this is where the classic debanking scenario starts. First, the bank automatically blocks your card and cuts off your access to the mobile app and online banking. All the money in your accounts is immediately frozen — you can no longer use it, even if on paper your balance looks perfectly fine.
The Bank’s Request: “Explain the Economic Purpose of the Transactions”
The next step is an official request from the bank: “Please provide documents and explanations that disclose the economic purpose of the transactions.” In plain language, they want paper proof of where the money came from and why these particular people were sending it to you. Receipts, contracts, invoices, loan agreements — anything you can attach.
Why Crypto Is a Trigger for Compliance
And this is where most people hit a wall. What are you going to write in response? “I was selling cryptocurrency via P2P”? For the bank, that’s not reassuring — that’s an extra red flag. Crypto is still seen as a high-risk area. Try to lie and say it was “loan repayments” or “gifts from friends”? Then the bank will reasonably ask for loan agreements, handwritten IOUs and confirmations from each of the five (or ten) senders that they really lent you money or gifted it. Getting those documents after the fact is almost impossible.
High-Risk Client Status
As a result, the bank ends up in a convenient position: you failed to prove the legal origin of the funds and to explain the economic purpose of the transactions. Which means, under its internal rules, it can classify you as a high-risk client and start the offboarding process.
Soft Scenario: Contract Termination and a 10–20% Fee
From here there are two possible scenarios. In the softer one, the bank simply unilaterally terminates your banking agreement. You receive a notice along the lines of: “Please withdraw the remaining funds and close your account.” Quite often, a hefty fee for ‘investigation’ and ‘extra checks’ — up to 10–20% of the amount that was frozen — is deducted in the process. After that, you’re politely advised to look for another bank.
Hard Scenario: Rosfinmonitoring’s Blacklist
It’s worse when it doesn’t stop with a single bank. In the hard scenario, information about you is sent to the so-called Rosfinmonitoring blacklist. This list is not an internal database of one bank — all major financial institutions share it. In effect, it’s a common risk systеm that everyone is plugged into.
Financial Isolation as the Result of Debanking
And this is where full-scale debanking begins. You become a “toxic” client for the entire banking systеm. Any bank that sees your file will simply refuse to serve you. You’ll no longer be able to open a regular payroll card, a debit account, a deposit, or even a business account for your sole proprietorship. Every attempt to apply to a new bank will end the same way — a refusal with no detailed explanation.
In the end, a person finds themselves in a state of almost complete financial isolation: no normal card, no access to loans or deposits, and a ruined reputation in the eyes of the banking systеm. That’s what real “debanking” looks like — when one seemingly harmless P2P deal turns into serious trouble and a long tail of ongoing problems.