# Russian courts uphold fines on Sberbank over its robot debt collector's calls

Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-incidents/sberbank-2024-robot-collector-court-rulings
Last updated: Oct 21, 2026

Sberbank · Institution's own AI · severity 2 of 5

In March 2024 the Thirteenth Arbitration Appeal Court in St Petersburg restored a RUB 200,000 fine on Sberbank after its automated robot collector (an automated calling system not described as AI in the sources retained here) called a disabled debtor up to 11 times a day, against a legal limit of once a day, twice a week and eight times a month, Kommersant and Delovoy Peterburg reported. In February 2026 Russia's Supreme Court upheld a RUB 150,000 fine for 265 robot-collector calls over eight months, Fontanka reported.

## Key facts

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Date | Mar 5, 2024 (disclosed Mar 7, 2024) |
| Institution | Sberbank |
| Country | Russia |
| AI system | Robot collector · Automated voice robot making debt-collection calls on the bank's behalf, which a 2025 court described as a program with features of artificial intelligence |
| AI? | Automated system not described as AI — The system was automated, but neither the institution nor a regulator described it as AI; it is listed because it is routinely discussed as an AI failure. |
| Category | Agent / automation (Institution's own AI) |
| Status | Resolved |
| Severity | 2 of 5 — Limited harm with regulatory consequence: individual debtors were called far beyond statutory limits, and bailiff-service fines of RUB 200,000, RUB 150,000 and RUB 25,000 (each well under $1m) were upheld or imposed by the courts. |

## What happened?

A St Petersburg resident with a group I disability complained to the regional office of the Federal Bailiff Service (FSSP) that Sberbank was engaged in "telephone terrorism". The FSSP check confirmed that the bank's robot collector had on some days called her up to 11 times a day, while Federal Law No. 230-FZ on debt collection allows contact by phone no more than once a day, twice a week and eight times a month. The FSSP fined the bank RUB 200,000, the maximum under the law. According to Delovoy Peterburg, the debts came from four loans the bank issued in 2015 and 2016. [1][2]

Sberbank disputed both the amount and the substance of the penalty in the St Petersburg Arbitration Court, which at the end of December 2023 cut the fine to RUB 50,000. The FSSP appealed, saying the bank had kept breaking the law towards the same debtor after being penalised, so that a repeat complaint led to a second administrative case in November. The Thirteenth Arbitration Appeal Court overturned the reduction and restored the RUB 200,000 fine in a decision published on 5 March 2024; Delovoy Peterburg called it the first maximum fine on a bank in the region under the collection law. [1][2]

In February 2026 Russia's Supreme Court upheld a RUB 150,000 FSSP fine on Sberbank over 265 calls its robot collector made to a borrower over eight months, about 33 a month, Fontanka reported. The lower courts had annulled the penalty because the FSSP had not carried out a formal inspection; the Supreme Court held that data indicating an offence was enough to open the case and concluded that "the bank acted in bad faith and unreasonably, abusing the rights granted to it". [3]

## Timeline

- Dec 2023 — The St Petersburg Arbitration Court cuts the FSSP's RUB 200,000 fine on Sberbank over robot-collector calls to RUB 50,000. [1][2]
- Mar 5, 2024 — The Thirteenth Arbitration Appeal Court restores the full RUB 200,000 fine; the decision is published in the case file. [2]
- Mar 7, 2024 — Delovoy Peterburg and Kommersant report the restored fine. [1][2]
- Feb 2026 — Russia's Supreme Court upholds a RUB 150,000 fine on Sberbank over 265 robot-collector calls to one borrower in eight months. [3]

## What was the impact?

- Financial: Fines of RUB 200,000 (2024), RUB 25,000 (2025) and RUB 150,000 (2026)
- Customers: Individual debtors; one was called up to 11 times a day, another 265 times in eight months
- Other: The rulings treat robot-collector calls as direct interaction with the debtor, subject to the statutory frequency limits. [1][2][3]

## How did Sberbank respond?

Sberbank contested the 2024 fine in court, disagreeing with both its size and its substance, according to Kommersant and Delovoy Peterburg; Delovoy Peterburg said it had sent the bank a request for comment. Asked by Fontanka about the 2026 Supreme Court ruling, the bank declined to comment. No public statement from Sberbank on its robot collector was found as of 2026-10-21 (we searched Russian press coverage of the three cases). [1][2][3]

## What was the outcome?

The RUB 200,000 fine was restored on appeal in March 2024, and the Supreme Court confirmed the legality of a RUB 150,000 fine in February 2026. The sources reviewed do not report whether Sberbank changed how its robot collector discloses that it is not a person or how often it calls. [2][3]

## FAQ

### Why was Sberbank fined over its robot collector?

Russia's Federal Bailiff Service fined Sberbank because its robot collector called debtors far more often than Law 230-FZ allows: once a day, twice a week and eight times a month. One disabled debtor in St Petersburg received up to 11 calls a day, and another borrower 265 calls in eight months.

### How much was Sberbank fined for the robot-collector calls?

The St Petersburg appeal court restored a RUB 200,000 fine in March 2024 after a lower court had cut it to RUB 50,000; and the Supreme Court upheld a RUB 150,000 fine in February 2026, according to Kommersant, Delovoy Peterburg and Fontanka.

### What did Sberbank say about the robot-collector rulings?

Sberbank challenged the 2024 fine in court, disputing both its amount and its substance, and declined to comment to Fontanka on the 2026 Supreme Court ruling. We found no public statement from the bank on changing how its robot collector works as of October 2026.

## Sources

1. [Сбербанку в Петербурге назначили рекордный по размерам штраф за робота-коллектора](https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/6560343) — Kommersant, Mar 7, 2024 (news): "Проверка подтвердила изложенные ею факты: робот-коллектор Сбера в отдельные дни звонил ей до 11 раз в сутки."
2. [Суд Петербурга приговорил "Сбер" к рекордному штрафу за робота-коллектора](https://www.dp.ru/a/2024/03/07/sud-peterburga-prigovoril) — Delovoy Peterburg, Mar 7, 2024 (news): "Тринадцатый апелляционный суд Петербурга и Ленинградской области отменил снижение штрафа Сбербанку в первой инстанции в 4 раза и восстановил первоначальный размер в 200 тыс. рублей"
3. [Сбер наказали на 150 тысяч за «кошмаривание» заемщика](https://www.fontanka.ru/2026/02/26/76283592/) — Fontanka, Feb 26, 2026 (news): "«Банк действовал недобросовестно и неразумно, злоупотреблял предоставленными правами», — заключила высшая инстанция, подтверждая законность наложенного на Сбер штрафа."

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