Agreed. Just try to go to your friendly local bank branch and withdraw $5000 cash. They immediately get suspicious and start asking you what you're using it for and say there's reporting involved to notify the government that you're a potential criminal. If they don't outright refuse to give you your money they will still give you hell over it. And that's if you're a good upstanding citizen. If you do something they don't like then they just seize your account and all your assets.
In Russia it looks different, but it is also not easy to get large amount of cash. At least you have to preorder the necessary amount of cash. It depends on bank and locality of its office, but to withdraw equivalent of $10k (1M RUB) you will probably have to do at least a call to your bank office before. In large cities banks usually have enough cash for that sums of withdrawal, and you could get your cache without any notification but in regions it could be annoying.
Also we have a limits on withdrawal in ATMs, but I think it is more due to the limited amount of cash that could be stored in ATM.
I didn't heard about the reporting to the tax office or police, but there was the cases when bank employees reported withdrawal of large sum to criminals with followed robbery.
In Russia to open bank account you have to show passport, so I think there is no problem for three-letter agencies to monitor withdrawals if they wish.
Accounts could be seized from so-called "extremists" (mostly ones who commit mindcrime), but at least there should be court decision about specific person or organisation.
Agreed. Just try to go to your friendly local bank branch and withdraw $5000 cash. They immediately get suspicious and start asking you what you're using it for and say there's reporting involved to notify the government that you're a potential criminal. If they don't outright refuse to give you your money they will still give you hell over it. And that's if you're a good upstanding citizen. If you do something they don't like then they just seize your account and all your assets.
In Russia it looks different, but it is also not easy to get large amount of cash. At least you have to preorder the necessary amount of cash. It depends on bank and locality of its office, but to withdraw equivalent of $10k (1M RUB) you will probably have to do at least a call to your bank office before. In large cities banks usually have enough cash for that sums of withdrawal, and you could get your cache without any notification but in regions it could be annoying.
Also we have a limits on withdrawal in ATMs, but I think it is more due to the limited amount of cash that could be stored in ATM.
I didn't heard about the reporting to the tax office or police, but there was the cases when bank employees reported withdrawal of large sum to criminals with followed robbery.
In Russia to open bank account you have to show passport, so I think there is no problem for three-letter agencies to monitor withdrawals if they wish.
Accounts could be seized from so-called "extremists" (mostly ones who commit mindcrime), but at least there should be court decision about specific person or organisation.