Report: Russia’s Interior Ministry cuts off banks’ access to passport database without explanation
All Russian banks have been unable to access Interior Ministry databases to verify passports through the Interdepartmental Electronic Interaction System (known by its Russian acronym SMEV) since April 15, the business outlet Forbes Russia reported, citing sources.
One bank told Forbes Russia that in the early hours of April 15, the Interior Ministry “unilaterally and without any communication” shut off the passport verification service through SMEV 3 and SMEV 4. The outage affected all banks, and no timeline for restoration was known, the source said. Sources at the Russian business daily Kommersant confirmed the shutdown, saying the service remained unavailable the following day, April 16.
Banks use data obtained through SMEV in part when making decisions on loan applications, Forbes Russia explained. The main problems caused by the loss of access were in online services, Kommersant reported.
The Association of Big Data (ABD) confirmed that access to the database was not working. “Business processes have ground to a halt at a number of organizations, and it is difficult for us to assess the damage so far. We hope the problems will be resolved and access restored shortly,” the ABD stated.
A message from SMEV’s customer support service said the system was receiving “many complaints about lack of access” but that “the access control mechanism is functioning correctly,” attributing the disruptions to actions taken by the owners of the relevant data.
The Digital Development Ministry also stated that SMEV was working correctly and that the problems were caused by actions of “the owners of the relevant data,” without elaborating.
Access to Interior Ministry databases had previously been restricted to government agencies and officials. In November 2025, Russia’s lower house of parliament passed a law allowing paid access to Interior Ministry databases through the unified interdepartmental electronic interaction system. In late March 2026, the Interior Ministry proposed charging 50 rubles per “billing unit” — meaning each completed data exchange session.
The explanatory note accompanying the Interior Ministry’s draft decree said that in 2024 and 2025 alone, various organizations sent more than 3.7 billion queries to the ministry’s information systems. Those organizations included banks, microfinance companies, telecommunications operators, brokers, insurance firms, non-state pension funds, depositories, and others. The Association of Big Data criticized the proposal. Russia’s central bank also declined to support it.
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