MOSCOW, November 21 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s financial regulator said Thursday that it was looking for a temporary stand-in bank to resolve widespread card payment failures after the license of a major domestic bank was revoked for alleged money laundering.
Moscow-based Master Bank, which was shut down Wednesday by the central bank, operated a large network of ATMs, serviced card payments for almost a third of the country's banks and had issued cards to about 3 million people, according to media reports.
Many Russian banks issued statements in the wake of the announcement apologizing to customers for temporary processing suspensions, and warning against using Master Bank bank machines.
“The possibility of transferring servicing [for card payments] to one of the large commercial banks is being looked at. There will be a decision by the end of the day,” central bank first deputy governor Georgy Luntovsky said at a conference in Moscow on Thursday.
Master Bank, which counts a cousin of President Vladimir Putin among the members of its board of directors, has been part of a long-running investigation into money laundering.
Police said Thursday that investigators were searching the homes of Master Bank executives, and its founders.
The commission on cash conversion transactions in Russia has risen in the aftermath of the revocation of Master Bank's operating license, business daily Vedomosti reported Thursday.
