The key facts

  • From 20 October, amendments are in effect: special accounts are opened for enterprises in rehabilitation, external management or liquidation, and debit operations on the old accounts are suspended.
  • Funds in the special account can be spent only on the instruction of the client or the court-appointed administrator.
  • Customers will be able to find out about all their accounts at any bank of their choice and present a biometric foreign passport to open an account.

Special accounts for insolvency procedures

The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has explained the procedure for opening special accounts for enterprises undergoing insolvency procedures. The Ministry of Justice approved the relevant amendments to the procedure for opening, maintaining and closing bank accounts on 20 October, reports Spot.uz.

How the special accounts will work

Under the document, commercial banks will open separate accounts for companies undergoing rehabilitation, external management or liquidation. In these cases, debit operations on the main and secondary accounts are suspended. All funds remaining in the previous accounts or received later are transferred to the special account, while collection orders and blocking decisions will be returned unexecuted to the organizations that sent them. Only the client or the court-appointed administrator will be able to dispose of the funds in the special account. The Ministry of Justice noted that the measure is intended to promote the financial recovery of enterprises at the bankruptcy stage.

Other changes for bank customers

The amendments also allow customers to obtain, from any bank of their choice, information about all accounts they own — previously such information was provided only by the bank where the main account was opened. In addition, the list of documents for opening an account has been expanded: alongside an ID card and a driver's license, a biometric foreign passport can now be presented. Earlier, Spot reported that banks with their own cash-in-transit services received the right to independently transport money and valuables between branches.

Why this matters

The changes directly affect enterprises undergoing rehabilitation, external management or liquidation, and their creditors: from 20 October, the flow of funds of such companies is concentrated in a single special account, and debit operations on the previous accounts are blocked, which, according to the Ministry of Justice's plan, should help financial recovery. For other customers, the practical effect is the ability to learn about all their accounts at any bank and to open an account using a biometric foreign passport.