Natwest ridiculous accusation of fraud

Breadwinner

I recently transferred money to a friend's account. I sent too much and had second thoughts and asked her to transfer it all back to me and I'd give her the money in cash. She tried to send it back to me and got a call from Natwest, her bank, who asked her to confirm that she was making a genuine transaction. She told them yes, it was a simple mistake. I was with her at the time. But the money never appeared back in my account. Her account was frozen and when she called they said they had started a fraud investigation and refused to say why and that it would take days to resolve. She asked where the money was and they said they are holding it. Are they allowed to carry on like this? What's up with this bank? Seems very fraudulent of Natwest themselves to be doing this. She called them back three times and they won't say anything, even emailed and only got a message about it taking 5 days to complete an investigation (into what?), and still haven't returned the money. What now?

GTR_King

They are legally allowed to do it! 

They will want proof that the money you sent is legit & not dodgy & where it came from, 

nothing you can do or say will speed up the process your friend has gotta wait till they finish their investigation 

They are holding the money until they can guarantee it’s not dodgy etc!

where Did you originally get the money from? Was it a large transaction? 

We need full details don’t hide anything, 

Breadwinner

Not sure what you mean by prove it's legit and not dodgy. It was simply money sitting in my account. Natwest knows where it came from, my bank account, to my friend's account. They have no genuine reason for doing this, it's overzealous. Computer flagged it probably because it was a transfer so soon after going in, and acting like robots, the bank are going along with it instead of using common sense.

GTR_King

What I mean is the money is in your bank account but where did that money come from? That money has been flagged as suspected Fraudulent money that’s why they suspended your friends bank account & your might be as well once they find out you sent them the money

Breadwinner

That sounds ridiculous, as if the bank is treating us like criminals simply for making a mistake and trying to rectify it immediately. How do you prove where money came from when it's money you had in the bank for ages? 

GTR_King

Well that’s what they want to find out, 

well they will look at your friends account transactions then will trace it back to you, then will tell your bank to look into where the money came from & might suspend your account! You must know where the money came from. Was it a friend sold something etc crypto currency? 

We need full details otherwise we can help/advise you 

400ixl

OP, take the emotion out of it.

Banks are required by the regulator to be looking for potential money laundering activities. Someone receiving money like your friend has and then very quickly transferring it back out again is a classic sign of being a money mule.

This has triggered an investigation they have to take. This first involves freezing the account, they are not allowed to tell the account holder any more than the investigation is happening and a possible time line (with no guarantees).

When their investigation is complete they will either release the account, or inform your friend they are closing it and will send the balance back. If they do find a issue (unlikely from what you have said) then there could be a fraud marker with CIFAS applied which would mean that they would only be able to get a basic bank account for some time.

This is all dictated by the financial regulator to identify fraud, the banks have no choice but to comply.

swingaloo

Possibly the fact that you had it all transferred back. If you had sent too much would it not have been better to just ask for the excess amount back rather than it all. Doesnt make any sense to transfer a lump then ask for it back only to give it back yet again in cash.

eskbanker

I don't see a "ridiculous accusation of fraud"?  Just an investigation into an unusual transaction, perhaps exacerbated, rather than resolved, by an explanation potentially seen as lacking credibility ("the sender sent too much and had second thoughts and asked me to transfer it all back to them and they'd give me the money in cash"; "yes, they're here with me now asking me to do that straight away")....

M25

Breadwinner said:

That sounds ridiculous, as if the bank is treating us like criminals

But you may be criminals we don't have all the facts.

Reading your first post it seems incredulous and dodgy. It may not be and you may not be criminals but you have to provide a little bit of information to the bank.

If you don't like banks and don't want this to happen again put the money under your mattress.

Theleak250

What’s the amount? How much extra was sent by accident? Why did you suddenly want to use cash?