Russian nationals in Turkey who left their country are now rushing to open bank accounts in Turkey to put their savings into the global system and finance their livelihoods, as both citizens and businesses struggle with international sanctions following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Many Russians flocked to Turkey to escape compulsory military service, due to losing their jobs or expectations that the sanctions will get worse.
Flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) currently conducts reciprocal Istanbul-Moscow flights five times a day as the airliner has not yet joined others in halting flights to the country.
Turkey has also not yet joined the West on sanctioning Russia as Ankara continues its diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the Ukraine conflict, urging all sides to exercise restraint while maintaining its neutral and balanced stance. While Ankara has opposed international sanctions designed to isolate Moscow, it also closed the Bosporus and Dardanelles under a 1936 pact, allowing it to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing the Turkish Straits.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Ankara has offered to mediate between the two sides and host peace talks, underlining its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. The country also hosted both country’s foreign ministers for talks in southern Antalya over the weekend during a diplomacy forum, marking the first such talks since Russia invaded its neighbor.
Turkey’s neutral attitude makes the country a preferred destination for Russians who generally adopt the country as the first option for holidays
According to a report by economics daily Dünya that cited sources from the banking sector, there is a significant increase in demand from Russian citizens seeking to open bank accounts in Turkey in recent weeks.
The Russian central bank has already limited money transactions abroad and has suspended forex sales against the ruble until Sept. 9. The lender has also put a $10,000 limit on the amount that can be withdrawn from forex accounts in Russian banks, allowing amounts surpassing this to only be withdrawn in rubles. All these measures have been making it difficult for the Russian citizens leaving the country.
In order for foreign country citizens to open bank accounts in Turkey, they need a residency address, tax number, passport number and mobile phone number. But since the ruble doesn’t seem to be a convertible currency anymore, they need to open Turkish lira accounts.
Sources told Dünya that Turkish lira accounts benefit Russians in two ways. One is that they can maintain their livelihood in Turkey and the other is that they can open forex accounts after opening a TL account and subsequently, participate in the international system with their savings. The sources also added that the demand for Turkish bank accounts is expected to grow more since the expectancy that sanctions will worsen for Russia has been prevailing.
Another method for Russians to seemingly make transactions or savings is through the cryptocurrency market. Analysts interpreted the record-breaking crypto trading volume in Russia in recent weeks as a reflection of this demand. The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance and Europe's largest, Kraken, have not yet closed their platforms to Russians. And it is still possible for them to trade with rubles on these systems.
Russians can send cryptocurrencies from any country in the world to any other country without entering the banking system. It is possible to convert the crypto money they buy from Russia in rubles to dollars and buy from the stock market in Europe or from global stock markets. However, this transaction is a little difficult in Turkey since crypto money platforms require a Turkish identity number. Accordingly, they can either find an intermediary with high commissions to convert crypto money to liras in Turkey, or they can perform this transaction personally at the Grand Bazaar, according to information given by crypto money experts.
The credit card giants, Visa and Mastercard, also banned Russian banks, and the Russian MIR system has become controversial again. In Turkey, Vakıfbank, Ziraat Bankası and Iş Bank have options for making transactions with MIR cards.
