Argentine bank Galicia is closing accounts of citizens of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine

The Argentine bank Galicia has been closing the accounts of Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians since 28 October. The first client complaints appeared on 28–29 October, and according to non-state Belarusian outlets, the bank closed some accounts without warning.

According to private Belarusian outlets operating in the country, individual, salary and corporate accounts stopped showing in the app, and transactions on them became unavailable. Money can be withdrawn at a bank branch. Those affected include citizens of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

The restrictions also hit people who have received Argentine citizenship: their place of birth is listed as one of the affected countries. One client said two of his accounts were cut off; his place of birth is Belarus, and he was registered on a "permanente", a permanent residence permit. A woman from Belarus said she officially works at a local company and has received her salary on the card for two years. Another client wrote that his credit card still works, but his debit card does not.

The bank's clients complain about the blocks and claim they affected people connected with Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Almost 500 Belarusians and Russians are preparing a collective lawsuit to find out the reasons for the blocks. Those affected are gathering in a Telegram chat, "Blocked in Galicia", where they discuss the lawsuit. As of 1 November the chat had about 600 people, though not all of them had their accounts stop working.

Galicia has no official position on the blocks. One client said that support told him: "the accounts were closed by the bank's commercial decision". Clients are being offered to withdraw their money in cash.

This is not the first time banks have restricted Belarusians' access to their money. In December 2022, Bank of Georgia closed the accounts of citizens of Belarus and Russia en masse without explanation and gave them five days to withdraw funds. In November 2025, Revolut blocked the accounts of some clients from Belarus and Russia.