People brought their families, businesses, and professional skills intending to build their new life outside of former Soviet Union countries. For over 18 months, these immigrants (those not under sanctions) have been largely unable to bring their assets to Israel, chiefly, proceeds from sales of property, personal savings, and corporate funds, and thus have been prevented from building their new lives in Israel.

 

Many have left for friendlier countries that are happy to have talent and capital inflows. Israel has already missed a huge opportunity for this diversifying upgrade. 
 

These barriers are a result of Israeli banks implementing a “zero-risk blanket policy” in an attempt to prevent fines and scrutiny from the US government.

The implementation of this “blanket” policy prevents the transfer of documented and legal funds from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus to Israel.

 

In an attempt to handle compliance risk through this “blanket” policy,  when serving clients from the former Soviet Union, banks have not produced clear or unified guidelines to manage the compliance risk of new U.S. sanctions.

This leads to unjustified and automatic denials of banking services, and barriers for legitimate businesspeople, displaced professionals, and immigrants who are also newly Israeli citizens. 

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The team behind The Fair Banking Project come from The Reboot Startup Nation, The Israeli Federation of the Binational Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and 1 Million Lobby. The team is working in collaboration with the Israeli Parliamentary Committee for Immigration, searching for a solution from the Association of Israeli Banks, and the Bank of Israel. 

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Beyond the Fair Banking Project, the EIO is involved in professional integration for athletes, arts and culture professionals, academics, and educators. Learn more.​