A man was scheduled to receive alimony payments from his ex-wife who lives in Russia, but the payments were delayed or rejected by the bank due to restrictions resulting from international sanctions imposed on Russia due to the war in Ukraine.
The court ruled that the bank’s refusal to transfer the funds due to the implementation of a risk management policy was reasonable, but it should have done so in an orderly and clear manner. The interest of maintaining the bank’s relations with banking corporations and financial entities around the world, maintaining the stability of the bank and the proper operation of the entire banking system, and maintaining Israel’s economic and trade relations justifies establishing policies and procedures in connection with entities that have been sanctioned by international bodies. The bank is obligated to comply with, adopt, and implement the risk management policy of the Supervisor of Banks, and as long as it operates in accordance with this policy, this is not an unreasonable refusal to provide banking services, all the more so as the bank implements this policy in a consistent, orderly, and clear manner. Here, the bank took actions required by the risk management policy, which the bank is obligated to adopt, and the plaintiff knew well before making the payments that there was a problem in the banking system in Russia and that it was unclear how it would be possible to transfer funds from Russia to Israel. However, the bank acted in a confused and inconsistent manner, requesting unnecessary information while providing information full of errors, so the plaintiff is entitled to compensation for the mental anguish caused by the aforementioned inconsistent conduct.
To read the ruling, Supreme Court of Israel (Tel Aviv) 36055-05-23 Toblin Konstantin v. Bank Mizrahi Tefahot Ltd.
Published in Legal Channel 430 08.01.2025 Afik & Co. https://he.afiklaw.com/
