Due to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, an increasing number of businesses are finding themselves compelled to investigate whether their customers appear on sanction lists.
For instance, a system maintained by Asiakastieto, which compiles information about entities subject to sanctions, has seen hundreds of thousands of checks conducted this year alone.
“Usage of our service has tripled since the beginning of the war. Some major groups conducting checks include pension funds, electricity companies, construction firms, automobile industries, as well as real estate and leasing services,” noted Teemu Kettula, Product Owner at Asiakastieto.
Pension funds have an obligation to verify their customers’ identity. They actively compare sanction lists with customer data. For Ilmarinen, this has led to interruptions in the disbursement of some pensions.
“We’ve had to suspend pension payments for individuals due to sanctions. It’s crucial to emphasise that these are isolated cases,” highlighted Tiina Nurmi, Executive Vice President of Insurance and Pension Services at Ilmarinen.
Similarly, Elo, another pension fund company, has implemented a stringent policy regarding both pension recipients and businesses affected by sanctions.
“We cannot uphold insurance for a business or entrepreneur placed on a sanction list. However, the employees of that company will still receive their pension entitlements based on their earnings, even during the period when the company is on the sanction list,” explained Sari Läntinen, a lawyer at Elo.
Source: Yle
