Bank entitled to close account, and did so correctly

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Bank entitled to close account, and did so correctly

Categories:

Anti-money laundering - changes to banking,

Summary:

Hamish ran a funds remittance business, ABC Ltd. His bank decided to close the company's account because of concerns it was being used in breach of the anti-money laundering legislation. The bank sent Hamish a letter saying it would close his account in 14 days because of those concerns. Hamish believed the bank could not close his accounts unless it could prove its claims. He complained to the bank, which stood by its decision.

Published:

May 2013

Our investigation

Hamish complained to us. We cannot consider complaints about a bank’s decision to close an account, but we can consider whether it followed the correct process in closing the account. We found the bank had closed the account in accordance with the Code of Banking Practice, which requires that a bank give 14 days' notice of closure.