Russia’s central bank squeezed bank cash-outs, shadow flows moved outside

Russia’s central bank reported a sharp drop in bank-based cashing: 7.4 billion rubles in the first half of 2026, half the amount from a year earlier and the lowest in nine years. The “Know Your Client” platform, running since 2022, helped banks restrict accounts of nearly 190,000 high-risk entities.

Yet the non-bank channel grew 4 % to 8 billion rubles and now exceeds the banking route. Construction, services and trade still generate most demand — 36 %, 28 % and 22 %. Firms simply sell cash revenue to third parties and receive wire transfers instead.

Outbound transfers shrank to 5.5 billion rubles. Turnover of mule accounts serving crypto exchangers and illegal betting sites fell by a third; many cards are blocked within 24 hours, limiting large flows. The pattern is familiar: tighter rules raise costs and push activity into less visible channels.

Based on information from cryptonews.net