Bank accounts closed for a 19 yo - apparently fraud

manuelamacovei

NatWest closed my 19 yo son’s account apparently for money laundering/fraud. Someone put £1000 in his account, he won’t tell me what’s happening. He either doesn’t know or he is threatened.
He tried opening another account with Lloyds but they closed it after a few days without reason.
Where can he enquire what is about and can he open another account with any bank ?

Brie

Suggest he try a basic bank account at an unrelated bank.  Barclays or Santander?

Neither bank will give you any details. Better off quizzing your son more 

Zinger549

Has he checked his credit report to see if anything is showing on there. He could try one of the app based banks (Monzo, Starling ect).

la531983

Hes probably agreed to be a mule of some kind, and now has a lovely CIFAS marker against his name.

Tucosalamanca

Sucked in as a money mule by the sounds of it.
Sadly not that uncommon, some kids are always looking for a fast buck.
Money Mules – If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.
Money muling - National Crime Agency

born_again

He needs to make a DSAR request from CIFAS & National Hunter.

https://www.cifas.org.uk/dsar

Although if he is not telling you anything. Will he do it?

End of the day, if he has a fraud marker with CIFAS, then no bank will open a account. 
Best bet is looking at savings accounts.

boingy

manuelamacovei said:

Someone put £1000 in his account, he won’t tell me what’s happening. 

Based on those two statements the most likely scenario is that he does know what is going on but he is too proud or embarrassed to tell you. My guess would be that he has agreed to pass the money through his account for a "friend", in return for a small payment or just as a favour. 

I've put "friend" in quotes because it might well be someone he has never met in person - just someone on social media being pally and asking for help. Sadly, he might now be facing 6 years without a current account until the marker is removed. 

km1500

given the fact that you need a bank account to pushing much survive these days I always think six years is very harsh

GingerTim

km1500 said:

given the fact that you need a bank account to pushing much survive these days I always think six years is very harsh

While part of me is inclined to agree, denial of access to a mainstream account for six years for fundamentally dishonest and fraudulent behaviour, and only recourse to a basic account, seems fairly reasonable.

km1500

ah - didnt realise they could get a basic account

lr1277

I googled: Can I open a basic bank account with a CIFAS marker

This result suggests a basic bank account is not automatic nor impossible:

https://consumer-rights.org/news/can-i-open-a-basic-bank-account-with-a-cifas-marker/ 

I have no idea as to the accuracy of the site to which  have linked.

Other results suggest it is impossible i.e. can only get a savings account. If in this position you should do your own research.

Edited to add: there was a tv show about this in about 2018. On it a policeman suggested this be reported as fraud with the account holder as the victim. I don't know how far somebody would get if they reported ths to their local police force.