The owner of an Australian crypto exchange Allan Flynn has sued ANZ and Westpac for blocking their bank accounts, demanding compensation for $250,000.
Allan Flynn said his service has over 450 loyal customers. The platform is registered with the Australian Centre for Accounting and Analysis of Financial Transactions. Despite this, banks refuse to service Flynn’s accounts.
He accuses banks of systematic discrimination, saying that over the past three years, his bank accounts have already been closed in more than 20 financial institutions. These include the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Bank of Australia, ING, and Bendigo Bank.
“How can I run a legitimate business if my bank accounts are blocked?” Flynn wonders.
Flynn already filed a petition with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority last year for the agency to resolve the issue. However, the AFCA said Westpac was acting in accordance with the established rules. The bank has closed the user’s account in connection with the ongoing investigation of cryptocurrency fraud. Westpac offered Flynn compensation for the sudden account closure.
However, the Australian claims that he never received the promised payment. In turn, the New Zealand banking group ANZ stated that it does not provide banking services to crypto service providers. Flynn’s new complaint will go to civil and administrative courts and will begin in March.
It’s not just Australian banks that are facing similar charges. In March 2020, India’s Supreme Court overturned a directive from the country’s Central Bank banning banks and financial institutions from serving cryptocurrency firms. However, even following the Supreme Court decision, many Indian banks are still showing signs of “crypto-phobia.”
A similar situation is developing in China, where organized cryptocurrency trading has been banned for several years. In June, OTC cryptocurrency traders also started complaining about the blocking of their bank accounts. It turned out that the Chinese police began to freeze them due to suspicions of using cryptocurrencies to carry out illegal transactions.
