Displaced persons from Crimea still denied bank servicing

The bank employees refuse to open accounts to the Crimean displaced persons as they do not have proof of residence in Ukraine.

This was reported by Deputy Head of the Crimean Field Mission on Human Rights Olha Skrypnyk, who tried to open a foreign currency account in a bank.

“The bank employees refused to open an account because I am a non-resident and therefore must provide proof of residence in Ukraine,” Olha Skrypnyk said.

Moreover, the bank staff didn’t changed their mind even after they were told that the court had repealed the provision of the resolution of the National Bank of Ukraine stipulating that Crimean people had been non-residents of Ukraine.

“Holding back emotions, I explain that Crimea is Ukraine, so I’ve been already registered in Ukraine and my Ukrainian passport is the reason for being a resident. Of course, I said that there was the court decision, I cited it. The bank employee explained that the  decision meant nothing for banks, even more so, she said that the NBU would appeal against this decision, so I were a non-resident for them and they wouldn’t open an account for me until I brought a proof of residence in Ukraine,” Deputy Head of the Crimean Field Mission on Human Rights said.

However, she noted that she did not apply for aid from the state being the displaced person. Moreover, she pays taxes in Kyiv as a private entrepreneur, but is deprived of the opportunity to vote in the elections in the capital.

“It’s an interesting thing. It turns out I am a resident when I should pay taxes, but I am a non-resident if I want to get banking services. The Crimean residence does not prevent me from being a civil servant, but it does not allow to elect the local authorities… This discrimination is not just a violation of international and national laws. It gives you feeling that you are in the theater of absurd, where the common sense is not present even in the form of scenery,” Olha Skrypnyk says.