German bank responded to Maria Kalesnikava's words about account blocking
Commerzbank responded to Deutsche Welle's inquiry as to why the German account of former Belarusian political prisoner Maria Kalesnikava was blocked while she was serving her sentence in a penal colony.
Photo: Soeren Stache picture alliance via Getty Images
German Commerzbank, where Maria Kalesnikava had an account before her arrest in Belarus, responded in a comment to DW Belarus that they cannot comment on relationships with individual clients.
The bank also clarified that requests for account reactivation are forwarded to the relevant department for review, which then, as a rule, contacts the client.
"In general, we can say that we continue to serve clients — citizens of Belarus — if they reside in the European Union and have a valid residence permit in the EU country where they reside," a Commerzbank representative explained.
Last week, Maria Kalesnikava stated that while she was in the penal colony, her Commerzbank account was blocked, and she linked this to sanctions against Belarus.
"Quite a funny story. I had an account at Commerzbank for 17 years [Maria lived in Germany since 2008 — NN]. When I was in the penal colony, naturally, I couldn't manage it. And at some point, it was blocked. Now my account is blocked, and I have no access to it due to sanctions against Belarus. I am also from Belarus, and this affects me too, even though I am now in Germany with my [blocked] account, which was opened 17 years ago. And I can't do anything about it yet," she said.
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