Issue: № 5, 2026
Doi: https://doi.org/10.37634/efp.2026.5.9p
Introduction. The paper examines the legal phenomenon of de-risking in Ukraine’s banking sector as a structurally conditioned problem arising at the intersection of financial, administrative, and constitutional law. The purpose of the paper is to analyse de-risking legally; to identify legislative gaps enabling systemic financial exclusion; and to propose amendments restoring the balance between AML compliance and the protection of clients’ rights. Results. It is established that despite the formal legislative consolidation of a risk-based approach under Law No. 361-IX and NBU Regulation No. 65, banks systematically substitute risk management with risk avoidance, applying blanket refusals rather than individualised client assessments. The paper demonstrates that this practice is driven by an asymmetric sanctions regime that penalises formal procedural violations regardless of actual money laundering risk, creating rational incentives for hyperconservatism in compliance. It is proven that the absence of an effective pre-trial complaint mechanism contradicts both the updated 2023 FATF Guidance and general principles of the rule of law. The lifelong application of enhanced PEP supervision without proportionate review is identified as a further source of systemic financial exclusion. Conclusions. Addressing systemic de-risking requires introducing a mandatory NBU complaint procedure with binding review powers, conditioning sanctions on actual AML risk, establishing a statutory maximum period of enhanced PEP supervision not exceeding 36 months, and imposing a duty on banks to provide written individualised reasoning before any service refusal on AML grounds.
Keywords : de-risking, financial monitoring, AML compliance, protection of clients’ rights, risk-based approach
References:
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