Moves by the UK Government to re-examine the European Union law that has led to the sudden closure of bank accounts held by some high-profile Britons have been shrugged off by the man at the centre of the storm, arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage.
Speaking to Brussels Signal, Farage said: “It’s all well and good for ministers to write to the [UK] Financial Conduct Authority [FCA] but there’s no need.
“Just change the law!”
UK City Minister MP Andrew Griffith has written and published a letter to FCA chief Nikhil Rathi asking that the banking watchdog “prioritise” an EU regulation review into whether people are being denied bank accounts due to their political views.
That came after Farage’s claim last week that he had his bank account with the lender Coutts closed without explanation and had since been denied accounts at nine other banking groups, saying that was because of his political views. He said he had banked with the British financial institution Coutts, popularly referred to as “The King’s Bank”, since 1980.
Following the 59-year-old former Brexit Party boss’ revelation, a number of public figures have revealed they also had accounts shut down without explanation, apparently falling foul of rules for so-called politically exposed persons (PEPs). The regulations, which require financial institutions to perform enhanced checks on people in public life, were passed into UK law a few years ago under a piece of Brussels legislation.
“It is an EU directive and a Brexit government ought to deal with it,” Farage said.
In his letter to the head of the financial regulator, Griffith said of the PEP rules: “It is crucial that an appropriate balance is struck and that these measures do not unduly burden or prevent democratically elected individuals, public officials, or their respective families from access to essential banking services.
“Some financial institutions may be failing to strike the right balance of taking a proportionate approach based on a careful evaluation of the actual risk,” he said.
“Given the strength of concern on this issue, I would expect that the FCA will prioritise this important review over the coming months.”
Observers say the review could take up to a year to complete.
Farage, now a TV pundit with GB News, first raised the matter on Twitter last week, after unexpectedly winning an award for News Presenter of the Year while being roundly jeered at the media industry event. “The establishment were appalled!” he crowed.
He went on to detail his problems with Coutts and the lender’s approach, while tweeting: “This is serious political persecution at the very highest level of our system. If they can do it to me, they can do it to you, too.”
Coutts later claimed that Farage’s bank account had been closed because he failed to meet its wealth threshold that requires clients to have at least £1 million in investments or borrowing – including a mortgage – or £3 million in savings.
