UK Bank account for Russian Citizen

LobsterMemory

So to comply with their FAQs as posted before, they opened the account but didn't send a card 'cos your pal isn't UK resident?

System

They sent card, which my friend received while they were in this country

LobsterMemory

Hmm, Ok. Unless Monzo's FAQs are out of date, that does seem a rather lax use of 'resident'

System

I agree, which is why we wrote to them to check and get it from them in writing

jonnygee2

Hmm, Ok. Unless Monzo's FAQs are out of date, that does seem a rather lax use of 'resident'

Of course the rules will say that you need to be a UK resident to have a current account in the UK - that's a regulatory requirement.

Monzo do check your address by:

- Asking you where you live (the sign up page very clearly asks where your country of residence is, and for your main address)
- Sending you a card which you have to activate

These checks have obviously been deemed sufficient by the FCA. Many of us were surprised when the FCA allowed this, but they have.

Then again, our bank asks for electricity bills etc - and these frequently get forged and forgeries are hard to counter. I guess if someone is willing to lie to set an account up it's difficult to prevent. And people also move abroad permanently without telling us etc. Some 'leak' is inevitable - no bank can ensure every single customer is UK based.

Like all banks Monzo's 'KYC' responsibility will spread over the lifetime of the account. They will have continual monitoring too, to detect accounts that might not be UK based - what these are and how they work is anyone's guess but again they must meet FCA requirements or Monzo wouldn't be operating.

Kentish_Dave

robcam73 wrote: »

I have a friend in Russia who opened a Monzo account in the UK, using a friend's home address and their Russian passport to open the account. They wanted a UK account as they do not trust Russian banks. This is not a large amount of money and is in no way illegal, just their savings of about £3000.
Is this account legal? Would they be able to use this account to show funds when applying for a visitor visa to the UK?

Thanks

No, it’s fraud, so yes, it’s illegal.

Chino

jonnygee2 wrote: »

Of course the rules will say that you need to be a UK resident to have a current account in the UK - that's a regulatory requirement.

And which specific regulation requires this?

As distinct from banks requiring it themselves to have an easier time if they wish to pursue customers through UK courts to recover debts.

pinkdalek

_shel wrote: »

Sounds real dodgy, sure the home office will think so too

Why do you think that?

jonesMUFCforever

eDicky wrote: »

Which parts; what are these restrictions?

Sorry to be late replying - if you Google sanctions against Russia several UK government pdf are there for you to read with the answers.