A search at a bank: what to do in the first 15 minutes

A search never comes at a convenient time. The investigation team arrives in the morning, transactions are running, clients are in the branch, management is in meetings. This is exactly when staff make most of the mistakes that cannot be undone later: handing over too much, signing the record without objections, giving explanations without a lawyer.

Below is an action plan for the first 15 minutes. It is worth printing and keeping at security, reception and with management.

Minutes 0–3: call a lawyer and stop improvising

• Call a lawyer immediately. One number or the panic button in the app. There is no need to look for contacts or clear the call with management.
• Appoint one person from the bank to deal with the investigator. Other staff continue working and do not get into conversations.
• Ask them to wait for the lawyer. The law allows defence counsel and the lawyer of the person whose premises are being searched to be present (Art. 182(11) of the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure). The investigator is not obliged to wait, but the request is recorded.

Minutes 3–7: documents

• Read the order or court decision. Before the search begins, the investigator presents the order authorising it (Art. 182(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure). Check which case the search relates to, which premises are covered and what is being sought.
• Write down the participants’ details: names, positions, agency, attesting witnesses and specialists.
• Sign nothing except confirmation that you have read the order. Explanations, consent to “voluntary surrender” and other documents — only after the lawyer arrives.

Minutes 7–12: banking secrecy and equipment

• Information on clients’ transactions and accounts is protected by banking secrecy. It is provided to investigators in the manner established by law (Art. 26 of the Federal Law “On Banks and Banking Activity”). Staff should not open systems or export client data at a verbal request.
• Electronic media. For a number of economic offences the law restricts the seizure of electronic media and gives the owner the right to request that the information be copied (Art. 164.1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). This matters for servers and workstations the bank cannot operate without.
• Prevent unjustified disruption of operations. For a number of economic offences the Code of Criminal Procedure prohibits the unjustified use of measures that may obstruct lawful business activity (Art. 164(4.1)).

Minutes 12–15: the record and staff

• Every seizure goes into the record, with a description of the item, the medium and where it was found.
• Objections in the record are essential. Anything done in breach of the rules must be entered in the record at once: without that entry it is almost impossible to prove a violation later.
• A copy of the record is handed to the person whose premises were searched (Art. 182(15) of the Code of Criminal Procedure).
• Staff do not give statements “on the side”. If an employee is summoned for questioning, they are entitled to attend with a lawyer (Art. 189(5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure).

What not to do

• Do not destroy or hide documents and media: this creates a new offence and changes the bank’s position.
• Do not physically obstruct investigative actions.
• Do not give explanations about the bank’s business “for the record” without a lawyer.
• Do not publish information about the search before the position has been agreed with lawyers and the press office.

How to prepare in advance

The plan only works if it has been rehearsed. Under our “Drill” programme we audit criminal law risks, prepare action protocols for management, security and departments, and then run a mock search with an “investigation team”. After that, everyone at the bank knows what to do in the first hour, and the duty lawyer arrives with the first-hour documents already prepared.