German Online Bank Closes the Accounts of Over 100 Clients, Who Claim They Still Have Gotten Their Money Back

N26 clients have been suddenly blocked from accessing their savings, and several of them have told the Business insider, Including here a Ukrainian refuge, that they still haven’t gotten their money back yet.

According to a press release issued by N26 on April 19, in which it is explained why the bank accounts of some of its clients are sometimes closed, as a fully regulated bank N26 has a legal requirement to combat financial crime.

“N26 regularly conducts routine checks on our millions of customer accounts to detect suspicious activity or misuse of accounts, which allow us to monitor and flag suspicious activity or misuse where it may exist,” the press release reads.

It further goes on to explain that the bank, in spite of not being a traditional one, is obliged by law to report to the German Financial Intelligence Unit by filing a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) in cases when suspicious activity is detected.

“Sometimes, our findings may require us to block accounts. We always aim to return any customer funds as soon as possible as long as these can be released,” the statement reads.

It, however, acknowledges that not all decisions to block bank accounts are 100 per cent right, insisting that the N26 team does everything possible in order to minimize the margin for error.

The decision to block the bank accounts of some of its clients has affected many, including a Ukrainian refuge named Anya Shamaieva, who told the Business Insider that she had about €15,000 in her account, and she had hoped to support herself with that money while the war in her home ranged on.

When she contacted N26 regarding the reason behind the move, she was told that she had to prove the funds were hers in order to get her account unblocked.

“I explained that I am displaced, so it may be hard to prove because I didn’t bring anything with me. I’m not able to go to the tax office in Kyiv and risk my life again because N26 decided to close my account,” she said.

Others affected by the closure of their bank accounts claim they were left unable to pay their bills, were left unable to go on trips they had planned for months, thus losing money that was already paid, and some of them could not even allocate their employee’s salaries.

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