Support The Moscow Times!

Bank Drops Navalny Card Project

Alexei Navalny’s plans to launch a debit card that donates a percentage of all transactions to his anti-corruption work have been frozen after the bank behind the project pulled out, an associate of the opposition leader said.?  ? 

“The bank decided not to pursue the project,” Vladimir Ashurkov, chief executive of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Fund, said without specifying the bank. “I understand they were afraid of the political risks.”

The launch of the co-branded card, envisaged as the latest accessory for anti-Putin protesters, was scheduled for earlier this year but has been postponed indefinitely.

“We had talks with a couple of other banks, but there are no concrete plans at this stage,” Ashurkov said Friday.

The original idea was not Navalny’s but was proposed by the bank that has now abandoned the project, Ashurkov added. The Anti-Corruption Fund declined to comment on the identity of the financial institution that put forward the scheme, saying only that it is one of the country’s top 100 banks.

But billionaire Alexander Lebedev said in a July interview with Izvestia that his National Reserve Bank, ranked the country’s 98th-largest by assets according to Allbanks.ru, was in negotiations to release the card.

Pressure on the outspoken Lebedev, who also has holdings in the agricultural, construction and media industries, appears to be increasing, and he said last month that he was looking to scale back his businesses in Russia.

National Reserve Bank, however, is still looking to release the “Navalny card,” Lebedev’s spokesman, Artyom Artyomov, said Friday.

“The bank has many projects, and this is one of them,” he said. “It’s in the process of development.”

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more