Banking Secrets to be Disclosed Solely by Court Decision: Central Bank

The Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia has provided clarifications regarding the draft law on amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia, which was approved during the government meeting on September 12.

Armenpress presents the Central Bank's clarification: the draft law does not relax the current regime for protecting banking secrets. According to both the current law and the proposed amendments, information containing banking secrets will be provided only based on a court decision.

The draft merely establishes that, in exceptional cases, banking secret information regarding accounts other than those of the suspect or accused can be disclosed, provided that all the following conditions are met:

• Exclusively based on a substantiated and justified court decision;
• In criminal cases involving limited offenses that are exhaustively listed in the draft;
• When it is not reasonably possible to obtain the banking secret information by other means;
• With a motion approved by the Prosecutor General or their deputy;
• The motion must include substantial, relevant, credible, and sufficient information derived from the materials of the criminal case indicating that the banking secret information is necessary to clarify significantly important circumstances.

The institution of banking secrecy has been and remains one of the pillars of financial stability, and the proposed regulation is not a relaxation compared to the existing regulation. The Central Bank is steadfast in maintaining the institution of banking secrecy, as well as in ensuring financial stability in the country.