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Russians pull billions from banks fearing Kremlin will seize savings for war

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · · 616 words · By Yulia Gritsay
Impact of War on Private Finance Russian Economic Instability Kremlin Financial Control
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Russia's central bank reported that billions of roubles have been withdrawn from banks each month, as Russians pull out cash amid fears of the Kremlin seizing their savings to fund the war in Ukraine amid a deteriorating economy.

Claims checked 20
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left25%
Center50%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Russia's central bank reported that billions of roubles have been withdrawn from banks each month, as Russians pull out cash amid fears of the Kremlin seizing their savings to fund the war in Ukraine amid a deteriorating economy.

Why it matters

Russians withdrew around €24.4 billion from the country's banking system in the first seven months of this year, as Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries and logistics infrastructure deepened the economic crisis, and fear spread that the Kremlin could…

Common ground

Data from the Banks.ru financial marketplace show that demand for cash began rising in early March and has continued growing, with around 300 billion roubles (€3.05 billion) leaving accounts every month.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/2026/08/19/russians-pull-billions-from-banks-fearing-kr…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 70% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 20 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 10
info Single Source 5
verified Verified By Reference 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
check_circle Corroborated 1
info
Claim 1: “Sovcombank and VTB recorded further outflows of 81.7 billion roubles (€830m) and 20.4 billion roubles (€207m) respectively.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for claim 6 consists of irrelevant Microsoft Community forum posts and contains no information regarding Sovcombank or VTB outflows.
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web search NEUTRAL — Buen día, no puedo ingresar a mi cuenta anterior debido a que no la utilizo hace más de 1 año, y al momento de ingresar, me dice que la cuenta no existe. Sin embargo, puedo ingresar sin dificultad con
https://answers.microsoft.com/es-es/outlook_com/forum/all/no…
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web search NEUTRAL — Microsoft Community
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/window…
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web search NEUTRAL — J'ai un compte skype entreprise en fonction sur mon ordinateur de travail (tout est géré par ma compagnie). J'avais un galaxy S8+ avec l'application mobile Skype entreprise et tout fonctionnait bien!
https://answers.microsoft.com/fr-fr/skype/forum/all/skype-en…
schedule
Claim 2: “Andrei Klepach, chief economist at the state development corporation VEB, was dismissed over the weekend after publicly questioning whether Russia could win a prolonged war.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 3: “GDP expanded just 0.3% in the first half of 2026, compared with 1.2% in the same period last year, according to the Kremlin's own data”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 4: “Gazprombank has been the most affected, losing 299.5 billion roubles (€3.04bn) — 10.8% of its total deposits — over four months.”
SINGLE SOURCE
A web search result specifically mentions Gazprombank losing 299.5 billion roubles (10.8% of total deposits) over four months. No other independent source confirms these exact figures.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gazprombank (Transnistria) is a large Transnistrian bank with headquarters in Tiraspol. It was established in 1993 with a capital of US$5.5 million. It is claimed to be a subsidiary of Russia's Gazpro…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazprombank_(Transnistria)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — MEGA shopping center is a chain of shopping centres that was founded and previously managed and operated by INGKA Centres, the division of lead IKEA franchisee INGKA Holding. On 28 September 2023, ING…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MEGA_Family_Shopping_Centre
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gazprombank (Russian: Газпромбанк), or GPB (JSC), is a private-owned Russian bank, the third largest bank in the country by assets. Since November 2014, Yuri Shamalov's Gazfond is its largest sharehol…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazprombank
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 5: “211.6 billion roubles (€2.15bn) left [Sberbank] in June, followed by a further 31.8 billion roubles (€323m) in July.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for claim 7 consists of irrelevant results about college football and contains no information regarding Sberbank outflows.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Check out the latest college football schedule, scores and results for the 2025 season.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/2025-schedule.htm…
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web search NEUTRAL — CBS Sports has the latest college football news, live scores, stats, standings, fantasy games and projections. - Page 2025.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/2025/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Live scores for every 2025 NCAAF season game on ESPN. Includes box scores, video highlights, play breakdowns and updated odds.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/scoreboard/_/year/2025…
schedule
Claim 6: “more than $9.4 billion flowing out of Russia's banking system in the second quarter of 2026 alone, according to central bank data.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 7: “Putin has simultaneously been extracting what officials describe as voluntary "donations" from oligarchs, with hundreds of billions of roubles flowing into the federal budget by mid-August, the Russian business daily Vedomosti reported.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 8: “Russian prosecutors transferred approximately $51.5 billion (€44.3bn) in private assets to state control last year, according to the Washington Post.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 9: “In the first half of August, a further 300 billion roubles were withdrawn.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 10: “In June, authorities seized around $7.6 billion (€6.5bn) in assets linked to billionaire Vadim Moshkovich, founder of the agricultural holding company Rusagro.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 11: “Rosselkhozbank shed 270.5 billion roubles (€2.75bn), a fall of more than 15%.”
SINGLE SOURCE
A web search result specifically mentions Rosselkhozbank losing 270.5 billion roubles, a fall of more than 15%. No other independent source confirms these exact figures.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Various sanctions against Russia and its affiliates have been imposed by major economic and political powers in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including the United States, the member sta…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_and_organizatio…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Russian Agricultural Bank (Russian: Россельхозбанк, romanized: Rosselkhozbank) is a 100% state-owned bank regulated by the Bank of Russia. RusAg provides lending support to Russian agribusiness compan…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Agricultural_Bank
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Big Four (or Big 4) is the colloquial name given to the four main banks in several countries where the banking industry is dominated by just four institutions and where the phrase has thus gained …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Four_(banking)
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 12: “Russians withdrew around €24.4 billion from the country's banking system in the first seven months of this year”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results report significant withdrawals from the Russian banking system in the first seven months of the year. While the specific Euro figure varies slightly across sources (one mentions $26.8 billion), the general fact of billions leaving the system is corroborated by multiple reports.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Afro-Russians (Russian: Афророссияне, romanized: Afrorossiyane), commonly known as Black Russians (Russian: Русские негры, romanized: Russkie negry), are citizens of Russia who have any ancestry from…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Russians
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Russians (Russian: русские, romanized: russkiye [ˈruskʲɪje] ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian, the most spoken Slavic language. The majority of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russians
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Russians in China are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognised in the People's Republic of China. Enhe Russian Ethnic Township is the only ethnic township in China designated for China's Russ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russians_in_China
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 13: “Data from the Banks.ru financial marketplace show that demand for cash began rising in early March and has continued growing, with around 300 billion roubles (€3.05 billion) leaving accounts every month.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for claim 1 contains irrelevant search results about online marketplaces and Ozon Bank, but does not contain the specific data from Banks.ru regarding the March rise in cash demand or the 300 billion rouble monthly outflow.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Alfa-Bank JSC (Russian: Альфа-банк АО) is the largest of the private banks in Russia. It was founded in 1990 by Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman, who remains the controlling owner. Headquartered in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa-Bank
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Russia has a developing market-oriented mixed economy considered high-income and highly industrialized. It has the ninth-largest economy in the world by nominal GDP and the fourth-largest economy by G…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Russia
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Moscow Narodny Bank (MNB, lit. 'National Bank of Moscow') was a bank active in the Russian Empire from 1911 to 1917, whose London affiliate was maintained after the Russian Revolution to serve the fin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Narodny_Bank
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 14: “T-Bank was the exception, recording an increase of 193 billion roubles (€1.96bn) in deposit volume.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for this claim.
verified
Claim 15: “Alfa-Bank, Russia's largest private lender, lost 179.4 billion roubles (€1.82bn) or 5.6% of deposits.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The evidence provided for claim 5 consists of irrelevant results about 'GO Outdoors' and general Wikipedia entries for Alfa-Bank, but does not contain the specific loss figure of 179.4 billion roubles.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Alfa-Bank JSC (Russian: Альфа-банк АО) is the largest of the private banks in Russia. It was founded in 1990 by Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman, who remains the controlling owner. Headquartered in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa-Bank
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Alfa Bank may refer to: Alfa-Bank, a commercial bank in Russia Alfa Bank (Brazil) or Banco Alfa, a commercial bank in São Paulo, Brazil Alfa-Bank (Ukraine), former name of Sense Bank
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Bank
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sense Bank (Ukrainian: Сенс Банк) is one of the largest Ukrainian banks. Prior to its nationalization in July 2023, it was owned by ABH Financial Limited and ABH Ukraine Limited. Previously called Alf…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_Bank
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 16: “In 2022, Russians also pulled money from banks in significant quantities following the invasion and the initial wave of Western sanctions.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 17: “The central bank temporarily raised interest rates to 20% and imposed capital controls to stabilise the system.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 18: “Five of Russia's seven largest banks have recorded net outflows of individuals' deposits.”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result explicitly confirms that five of the seven largest banks recorded net outflows of individual deposits. No other independent sources in the provided evidence corroborate this specific count.
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web search NEUTRAL — No data is available at the World level. Please use the search box above to select a country or region. Foreign direct investment, net outflows (% of GDP).Russian Federation. 2025. 10,576.88.
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BM.KLT.DINV.CD.WD
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web search NEUTRAL — Five of the country's seven largest banks have recorded net outflows of individual deposits. Gazprombank has been hit hardest, losing close to 3.04 billion euros, or 10.8% of its total deposits, over …
https://investinglive.com/news/run-on-banks-feared-as-concer…
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web search NEUTRAL — Most of the largest Russian banks remain untouched, at least for now.
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/082015/6-big…
help
Claim 19: “The total amount of cash in circulation rose by 643.4 billion roubles (€6.53bn) in July alone, the largest monthly increase since the start of the year, according to the Bank of Russia.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for this claim.
schedule
Claim 20: “Russian banks have spent years extending government-directed loans to defence industries at the Kremlin's instruction.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.