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11 may 2022, 17:43
Chief Financial Ombudsman Yury Voronin and the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova have signed a cooperation agreement. The signing ceremony was held on 11 May 2022.
The subject of the agreement is the organisation of interaction on the exchange of information, as well as the coordination of activities when the parties exercise their powers in the established areas of activities.
“The signing of the document is a landmark event in the history of our institutions. The interaction and coordination of efforts which we stipulated in the agreement will enhance the protection of one of the most vulnerable categories of our citizens, namely children,” Yury Voronin said.
He said that in the process of consideration of citizens’ appeals the Financial Ombudsman Service revealed a number of problematic issues relating to the interests of children: there are cases when during execution proceedings social pensions for disabled children are written off the accounts of their parents or guardians. Due to regulatory gaps, this money is not protected by immunity in enforcement proceedings, the sender does not “colour” them accordingly, the credit institution writes off the funds at the request of bailiffs.
“This state of affairs seems unacceptable, as the recipient of social payment (a disabled child), who has no debt and cannot be held liable for the obligations of his parents, is actually deprived of his/her livelihood. We hope that the signed agreement will enable us to join hands in resolving this problem and address the identified difficulties promptly,” the Chief Financial Ombudsman added.
Under the agreement, the parties will be able to get information upon request, to conduct mutual consultations in the field of protection of the rights of minors and families with children – consumers of financial services. The parties will promote the dissemination of the best practices of qualified legal assistance to citizens in the relevant areas.
It is planned to organise joint events, including personal reception of citizens, seminars and round tables. Joint expert work to prepare proposals for improving Russian law enforcement practice and legislation on the subject of the agreement will also be one of the areas of work.
The Chief Financial Ombudsman also noted that the issue of improving financial literacy and providing qualified legal aid is becoming relevant due to the development of financial institutions and the expansion of their services, such as family and children’s banking, for example.
