12.05.2018

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov speaks about the possibility of opening up FIDE accounts with Bank of America

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) can open up an account with Bank of America. Earlier, Swiss bank UBS, which was previously cooperating with the federation, closed FIDE account.

"I gave FIDE Treasurer a list of several banks to open up accounts with, including Bank of America. I wrote them letters, and they are open for cooperation. There are many large Russian banks that are willing to hold our accounts," Ilyumzhinov said.

FIDE head noted that the federation still makes payments in accordance with all the contracts. "A couple of days ago, we held an event in Israel with a local chess organization. As soon as the media broke the news about Novichok, it was reported that FIDE accounts were frozen. Today, payments are made in accordance with all the contracts as usual. When UBS advised us about closing FIDE accounts, they did not mention my name as a reason for this step, nor they said a word about the sanctions," Ilyumzhinov said.