CRS and automatic exchange in 2026: what the Russian tax service learns about your foreign account

"I hold Turkish citizenship now — surely the Russian tax service won't find out about my account in Turkey?" This is one of the most frequent questions at consultations, and the short honest answer usually disappoints: it will — precisely because Turkey is on the automatic-exchange list. Yet about an account in Switzerland or the Cayman Islands the FTS in 2026 will most likely receive nothing — although intuition says it should be the other way round.

Let's break down how the automatic exchange of financial information (CRS) actually works in 2026, who really exchanges data with whom, and why changing your passport or getting a residence permit is not about "hiding an account" — it is about something else entirely.

CRS in a nutshell

CRS (Common Reporting Standard) is an OECD standard under which the banks of one country once a year pass data on the accounts of non-residents to their tax authority, which then exchanges that data with the tax authorities of the countries where the account holders are resident. Russia has taken part in this mechanism since 2018; the procedure is set out in Chapter 20.1 of the Russian Tax Code.

It does not work as "everyone with everyone", but by a specific list: exchange between two countries happens only if both sides have actually activated it with each other. That is why what matters is not the fact that "CRS exists", but the fact that "this particular country currently exchanges data specifically with Russia".

The current FTS list for 2026: who actually exchanges

Every year the FTS publishes its own list of states and territories with which exchange actually takes place — and it is this list, not the abstract roster of CRS participants, that you should look at when planning.

The latest update: FTS Order No. ED-7-17/883@ of 14 October 2025, in force from 22 December 2025, replacing the 2024 list. The new list contains 71 states and 9 territories (the 2024 list had 63 states and 12 territories).

Added in 2025: Kenya, Moldova, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Senegal, Saint Martin, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda.
Removed: Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, Turks and Caicos.

A detail that matters for our audience: Turkey, the UAE and Vanuatu are on the list both for 2024 and for 2025. In other words, accounts in these jurisdictions are in a mode of real, live exchange with the FTS right now — long before any change of your status.

Why "a second passport will hide the account" is a myth

Changing citizenship or obtaining a residence permit does not move an account from one tax jurisdiction to another, and certainly does not take it out of the automatic exchange. Whether data on an account is exchanged depends on the country where the account is held and whether that country has activated exchange with Russia — not on which passport you carry.

The practical takeaway for those obtaining citizenship of Turkey, Vanuatu or São Tomé for mobility and a Plan B (see "What is available to citizens of Russia and Belarus in 2026"): an account opened in the country of your new programme may well be just as visible to the FTS as a Russian one — if that country is on the list. This is not a reason to drop the programme (the motives are usually quite different — visas, family safety, access to banking), but it is a reason to structure your accounts deliberately, not on the intuition that "abroad means invisible".

The same principle applies to tax residency: obtaining a status does not automatically make you a non-resident of Russia — that is a separate question of days of presence and your centre of vital interests, covered in detail in "Second passport, residency and foreign banks" and — using Turkey as the example — in the in-depth tax breakdown "The 183-day rule without illusions" on turkeyzero.tax.

Then why have the "unfriendly" countries seemingly dropped out of the exchange

Here lies the counter-intuitive part of the picture. Russia formally remains a participant in the global OECD CRS standard. But since 2022 a number of countries that joined the sanctions against Russia have unilaterally suspended the actual exchange of data specifically with the Russian side — a decision of those particular countries, not a cancellation of CRS as such.

A telling precedent: in December 2022 the FTS removed Switzerland and the Cayman Islands from its list — precisely because those jurisdictions had themselves announced the suspension of exchange with Russia. Kazakhstan, the Maldives and Oman were added in their place.

The practical bottom line for 2026: countries that have not joined the sanctions pressure on Russia (including Turkey, the UAE, Vanuatu and many other jurisdictions on the current list) exchange with the FTS in normal mode. Meanwhile, for accounts in a number of Western jurisdictions the actual exchange with the Russian side is de facto suspended — but this state of affairs can change in either direction: politics here moves faster than tax law.

The list is reviewed annually and can change during the year. Before deciding where to hold accounts, check the current version on nalog.gov.ru — this article describes the picture as of July 2026.

The 600,000 ₽ threshold: when you can skip the report

A separate practical detail that removes unnecessary worry: if an account is held in a country on the automatic-exchange list and the annual turnover on the account, or the balance at year end, does not exceed 600,000 ₽ (or the equivalent in foreign currency), the law exempts you from filing the report on the movement of funds for that account with the FTS. It does not cancel the duty to notify about opening the account — but it does spare you the annual reporting on small amounts.

For larger accounts, or accounts in countries outside the list, the exemption does not apply — reporting is required on the general basis.

What to do with this in practice

Before opening an account for a new citizenship or residency programme, check the country's current status on the FTS list — it affects how you plan the structure, not whether the programme is worth taking at all.
Do not confuse "got a passport" with "changed tax visibility" — they are different things (more in the banks article and the FTS/MVD notification guide).
Keep in mind that the list is alive: countries enter and leave it for political and technical reasons, not once and for all.
Alongside the accounts, remember the adjacent obligations — notifying the MVD of a second citizenship or residence permit, and CFC rules if you own a stake in a foreign company (see the CFC breakdown for business owners).

Short checklist

CRS is a real mechanism in force since 2018, but the exchange runs not "with everyone" — it follows the FTS list, updated annually.
The current list for 2026 (Order of 14 October 2025, in force from 22 December 2025) — 71 states and 9 territories; Turkey, the UAE and Vanuatu are on it.
A second passport or residence permit does not hide an account in a listed country — the exchange depends on the jurisdiction of the account, not on your citizenship.
Some Western jurisdictions have de facto suspended exchange with Russia since 2022 (the precedent — Switzerland and the Cayman Islands removed from the FTS list); this is a political, not a technical, decision and may change.
There is an exemption: the funds-movement report can be skipped if the account is in a listed country and the annual turnover / balance does not exceed 600,000 ₽.
Before deciding on your account structure — check the current version of the list on nalog.gov.ru.

Disclaimer. This material is informational and is not tax or legal advice. The list of countries for automatic exchange and the related exemptions may change; the data given here is as of 2026 (current at the date of publication). Before making decisions, check the current version of the FTS list and, where necessary, consult a specialist lawyer or tax adviser.