The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has strengthened the right to a basic bank account in the EU. According to Tagesschau, this right also applies when a person is on a US sanctions list. The case was brought by a consumer whom a Slovenian bank refused to open an account for, citing the OFAC list of the US Treasury Department.
Since 2016, the basic account with essential payment functions has been available in Germany to all consumers legally residing in the EU – explicitly including homeless people, asylum seekers, and tolerated individuals. A credit check is not permitted, and termination is only possible for specific reasons, such as criminal offenses against the bank or payment arrears exceeding 100 euros. The regulation stems from an EU directive from 2014.
OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) maintains sanctions lists targeting terrorists, drug traffickers, and states such as Russia or Iran. US accounts of affected individuals are frozen, and transactions with them are prohibited. Due to the economic power of the US, the sanctions can also have effects outside the US – for example, through secondary sanctions against business partners. The ECJ has now made clear that this US law cannot override the EU-wide right to an account.
Source: Tagesschau
