Bank account closed- and they are NOT RETURNING MY MONEY

Chino

colsten wrote: »

Let's say the money is found to be involved in any form of money laundering. Do you think the account holder would get it back?

In what way is your suggestion relevant to the OP? The OP is not laundering money. Do you have any relevant suggestions or is that it?

masonic

mcplums wrote: »

I actually think you are 100% right here. I AM confused about this. Like you say, money laundering is a crime, and therefore it's up to the police/courts etc- just because I'm not in breach of any FSA rules does not mean I'm immune from prosecution. Thank you for the education. And, perhaps you are right and Fidor do actually have evidence to support the notion that I've received money that were the proceeds of money laundering. I can't 100% rule this out.

BUT, since to my knowledge I have done no such thing, it stands to reason that I will of course do everything I can to get my money back. Plus if I HAVE received the proceeds of crime then I definitely want to know about it!!! How else can I get to the bottom of this, without trying to get my money back!? Since Fidor won't tell me anything.

It's not that they won't tell you anything. It is an offence for someone in the regulated sector to inform a person suspected of being involved in money laundering that there is even an investigation taking place, so your only option is to wait.

What has Fidor actually stated regarding the account and funds?

Does anyone else have an opinion on whether its worth pursing via small claims court? I know one guy said it's not worth it, but perhaps worth a shot?

I was the one who said it was a non-starter. That was even before I looked into your T&Cs, which state:

"6 Applicable law
Applicability of German law
German law applies to the business relationship between the Customer and the Bank. "
https://www.fidorbank.uk/documents/banking/Terms-and-Conditions.pdf

colsten

Chino wrote: »

In what way is money laundering relevant to the OP? The OP is not laundering money. So, do you have any relevant suggestions?

How do you know that he doesn't? We neither know nor don't know. All we know is what the OP told us. Which may be factual or not.

Chino

colsten wrote: »

How do you know that he doesn't?

And what makes you so sure that the OP is laundering money? You still haven't answered my question.

colsten

EachPenny wrote: »

...and was very clear on the point in the previous thread on the subject:-

Doing arbitrage doesn't mean that you have customers.

jonnygee2

So here is what I'm doing: I'm selling bitcoins to one person and then rebuying them at a slightly lower price from someone else. I'm using 100% my own money at all times. My 'customers' are the people I sell bitcoins to.

If that is the extent of your activities, then you are correct that this is not something the FCA would regulate or something that would need FCA approval.

BUT, since to my knowledge I have done no such thing, it stands to reason that I will of course do everything I can to get my money back. Plus if I HAVE received the proceeds of crime then I definitely want to know about it!!! How else can I get to the bottom of this, without trying to get my money back!? Since Fidor won't tell me anything.

If you are lucky you will never find out anymore about it. If you are unlucky you will hear more about it in due course!

There is no way to press for more information unfortunately. The bank will not tell you any more about whats going on.

By the way - while on the subject - you keep saying you do KYC checks. Do you have an explicit legal agreement in place with your clients which gives you consent to store and process their data? Passports and ID are considered highly sensitive / high risk information.

And whatever you do, do not go around offering to send your KYC checks across to banks or sending them to external verification companies without explicit consent and contracts on both sides - they would almost have to report it as a data leak and you would face huge fines - your activity would fall under GDPR rules. The only people you can provide them to are the police.

masonic

Chino wrote: »

And what makes you so sure that the OP is laundering money? You still haven't answered my question.

In fairness to colsten, she never stated she was sure that the OP was involved with money laundering, whereas you stated categorically he was not. Which I don't think you are in a position to do.

colsten

Chino wrote: »

And what makes you so sure that the OP is laundering money? You still haven't answered my question.

Where have I said that the OP is laundering money?

jonnygee2

And what makes you so sure that the OP is laundering money? You still haven't answered my question.

Well, the bank is obviously sure because they have confiscated his money. And they are the only ones in this situation who are likely to have enough information to actually know. And if German banks work in anyway close to how UK banks work, you can be sure this decision wasn't made lightly.

So on fair assessment of probabilities, it does seem likely that the account has been used to move funds that were the proceeds of a crime.

brianposter

masonic wrote: »

I was the one who said it was a non-starter. That was even before I looked into your T&Cs, which state:

"6 Applicable law
Applicability of German law
German law applies to the business relationship between the Customer and the Bank. "
https://www.fidorbank.uk/documents/banking/Terms-and-Conditions.pdf

You can write what you like into a contract. That does not put the matter outside the local law (although it might restrict your rights).