Arjun Ahluwalia

Law, Food, Politics, Arsenal. ESG and Sanctions nerd.

[Arjun Ahluwalia @ArjAhloo]

@sawlaw8 Ah Sarah, really sorry to hear that! RIP

[Arjun Ahluwalia @ArjAhloo]

@georgeeaton George, no - there is nothing special or strange about this case other than the leak to the press by the bank.

[Arjun Ahluwalia @ArjAhloo]

@Cloud_Tipper @AdamWagner1 Disbarred, the honorary KC is a slap in the face but it's her status as a barrister that should be considered.

[Amy Lawrence @amylawrence71]

@arsenalamerica @GoonerInDetroit Big ❤️ to Ryan from Detroit, Nico from London and Clark from Ohio, happy owner of the signed shirt.

As @GoonerInDetroit puts it:

“One person can’t change the world, but you can change the world for one person.”

#AFCfamily

[Arjun Ahluwalia @ArjAhloo]

@virginmedia Guys it's your standard wording

[Arjun Ahluwalia @ArjAhloo]

@virginmedia your service is reliably poor. I cannot wait till the contract is over, worst provider in the UK.

[Arjun Ahluwalia @ArjAhloo]

@virginmedia Yes. Currently gree

[Arjun Ahluwalia @ArjAhloo]

@virginmedia It's a permanent issue with your service. Every time I work from home the WiFi isn't able to cope. And it's nothing complex - just MS Office and Teams use. We pay a fortune for this and it's pointless

[Arjun Ahluwalia @ArjAhloo]

@virginmedia No

[Arjun Ahluwalia @ArjAhloo]

@virginmedia Nothing.

[Arjun Ahluwalia @ArjAhloo]

@virginmedia I've a history of raising poor quality internet with you over the time I've had a contract

[Arjun Ahluwalia @ArjAhloo]

@virginmedia Yes and no advice the service is intermittent not down. There are time when the app does not successfully connect as well.

[Arjun Ahluwalia @ArjAhloo]

@virginmedia WiFi

[Arjun Ahluwalia @ArjAhloo]

@virginmedia Yes, same intermittent service when working

[Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla]

When I met Arron Banks 2 months before my trial, he told me I’d ‘caused him a lot of problems’. He’d been dropped by Barclays & couldn’t get banking. I told him as much as I’d like to have that sort of power, I don’t think that’s how anti-money laundering checks actually work

[Arjun Ahluwalia @ArjAhloo]

@MarkKieranUK Cannot echo this enough

[Mark Kieran - Democracy Activist @MarkKieranUK]

Nigel Farage claims he may be forced to leave the UK because his bank of 30+ years has decided it no longer wants his business, and no other bank will take him on.

He says it's pure persecution...the Remainer Elite taking revenge for his role in delivering Brexit. But there's a bit more to it than that. Needless to say, Farage is being more than a little economical with the actualité.

He DOES admit to being a Politically Exposed Person (PEP), as defined by the Financial Action Task Force, an international body established in 1989 to set international standards for countering money laundering and terrorist financing.

He should not be surprised, then, that as a result, his bank is obliged by UK law - the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 - to carry out robust due diligence on him and his banking activities.

From what Farage has said, it appears that the bank has done this due diligence and concluded that he represents a level of risk they cannot tolerate.

So, why might that be?

Well, the main reasons a bank might close a PEP’s accounts are:

Suspicion of Money Laundering or Other Illegal Activity: This is the most common reason for closing a PEP's account. This can result from unusual transactions, particularly those involving large sums of money or transactions that do not match the account holder's typical behaviour.

Failure to Comply with KYC/AML Regulations: All banks are required by the Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations to carry out strict checks on their customers. If a PEP fails to provide the necessary documentation or information, or if the information provided raises concerns, the bank may choose to close the account.

Reputational Risk: By their very definition, PEPs are under public scrutiny, and any scandal associated with them can potentially harm the reputation of the bank. If a PEP becomes involved in a public scandal, especially one involving financial wrongdoing, a bank may decide to close an account to protect its own reputation. (Perish the thought that Farage would ever be involved in a public scandal!)

Regulatory Pressure: Sometimes, banks face pressure from regulators to sever ties with certain PEPs, particularly in scenarios involving international sanctions, corruption charges, or other high-profile legal issues. Bad as he is, Farage probably doesn’t quite fall into this category. Yet.

Business Risk: Banks also need to consider the business risk of maintaining the account. If the costs and risks associated with maintaining and monitoring the account outweigh the potential benefits (e.g., due to high compliance costs or the risk of fines for non-compliance), the bank may decide to close the account.

Given the limited amount of actual information in Farage’s theatrical outburst, it’s impossible to know which, if any, of these was behind his bank’s decision. But none of them seems like particularly good news for him, so it'll be worth keeping an eye on how things unfold...especially if it looks like he might feel the need to emigrate as a result of it all. (Will he take a small boat to France, I wonder?)

[END]

[Arjun Ahluwalia @ArjAhloo]

@virginmedia Intermittent loss of service on streaming and working calls and meetings. Completely unreliable service.