OREANDA-NEWS The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has launched an investigation into Sberbank for allegedly violating advertising laws, according to a statement from the agency.

The FAS received a complaint from a citizen regarding the bank's advertisement, which was aired on the Petersburg channel 5. The advertisement prominently displayed an attractive interest rate of 16% for consumers on deposits.
However, the fine print of the advertisement contained other terms and conditions of the deposit, including the minimum amount, opening period, and restrictions on using funds from previously closed accounts. These terms were presented in a small, difficult-to-read typeface, located in a footnote. Additionally, the footnote stated that these conditions only applied to customers who had connected one of the bank's paid services.

According to the FAS, this practice resulted in consumers receiving incomplete information about the full terms of the deposit and its potential returns.In case of a violation, the bank may be held administratively responsible in accordance with the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. The service emphasized this.