Lithuania: Bank freezes accounts of namesakes of sanctioned leader from Ukraine's LPR

The ongoing ravaging war between Russia and Ukraine has not only devastated the citizens of these two countries but it has also caused troubles for people in other nations as well. According to reports, a couple of people in Lithuania faced an "unprecedented situation" as their names or surnames coincided with the name of a person included in international sanctions lists. The bank accounts of two Lithuanian residents were frozen as they were having the same name as a Minister of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) -- the breakaway region in Ukraine. 

Luhansk's 'self-styled' Prime Minister, Sergey Kozlov has been included in the international sanctions list following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Sergejus Kozlovas, a Lithuanian resident with the same surname as the Luhansk minister, claimed that his bank account has been frozen. Teacher by profession, Sergejus said that he has been receiving his salary in the same bank account for five years, but the problems started only now. "I am very interested in knowing how the bank, seeing all my data, can include my personal code in some kind of list. [...] You have to fight for your salary, prove to the bank that you have been there for five years, he told LRT TV. 

"The funniest thing is that I'm not the only one like that - I found a namesake on Facebook who is facing exactly the same situation," S. Kozlovas further added. The Kaunas man claimed that he had to establish his identity in several instances. "I ordered shoes online, the courier arrived and I had to prove that I am not the person to whom sanctions have been placed. Apparently, information about my name and surname is common," he told the Lithuania news outlet. 

Association of Lithuanian Banks give clarification on issue

The Association of Lithuanian Banks and the Luminor bank stated that they understand that the situation was unexpected for individuals. However, they further stated that the legal acts on the prevention of money laundering and terrorism, the international sanctions implemented in the European Union and other legal acts, oblige banks to carry out customer identification procedures and monitoring of operations. "Each bank is individually responsible for these processes and must implement them. Specific monitoring criteria and practices are determined by each bank individually, taking into account the best international experiences," the Association of Lithuanian Banks said in a statement.

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