Bank Are Terminating My Account - Can I Get A Bank Draft

[pumpjack]

banks written to tell me they are terminating my account from 11. 2. 20

dont know why this is, they had me in 2 week ago asking me where i got money to pay large sums into, i gave them an honest explanation ( money came from sale of home in thailand , thai bank would not let me repatriate my money so i took it out in cash and carried it home to uk with me. )

can i get a bank draft for approx 90K
put it into another bank either here in uk or eire .
dont want send back to thailand as i would lose too much on transfer rates but i may have no other choice.
if international transfer use transferwise ?
could take it out in cash and resort back to hiding it away but that is last resort.

money is legal before any smart remarks

[KARL]

Withdrawing the money in cash or a draft would amount to the same thing - you have then access to it. My thought is that you may find you cannot immediately access any of it, after some hoops perhaps a fraction but I don't know. Nobody other than the bank can answer your question regarding access, you are in their hands except for perhaps some form of complaint procedure. They hold the money and may take the strictest, most obstructive approach, all because they don't want to be accused of not having done so ("duty", etc.). What is the bank saying ?

[pumpjack]

" why not ask your bank - they will tel you what they will or wont do "

this is answerbank maybe you forgot, what is the whole purpose of this site ?

[bednobs]

Whatever; it seems very unlikely to me that any answerbankers are decision makers at foreign banks, but you never know!

[JJ109]

We can only answer if we know the full story and I feel that you have been vague. You have only given information where it suits you.

1. To own houses in Thailand (as opposed to condos) you have to be a Thai citizen with one or two exceptions. One being that you are employed in certain sectors required by Thailand (teachers and so forth). You cannot prove your employment, so this is not the case. Therefore presumably the house was not in your name, and you had purchased in some one else's name - or it was a lease.
2. I have no trouble remitting funds to the UK but I can prove where my funds come from, and I have not had to send a large amount that goes above Thai export controls, but it is always gets checked where it comes from.
3. The Thai Bank were not satisfied and so you took it out in cash and "smuggled" it into the UK unbeknown to the Thai authorities.......
Can you please tell me why this is not money laundering? You say it is your money, but why did you have problems in Thailand, something does not make sense!

[straydog]

I think there is a lot more to this than meets the eye - as my mother would say! It is very unusual for a bank to terminate a customer relationship unless the customer is aggressive towards staff or has repeated overdrafts without prior approval and even then not without any warning. If they haven’t already told you, have you asked them why they are taking this action? You have every right to know. I think you should do this and, as others have said, ask them how you can access your funds.

[ummmm]

Are you sure about that JJ? My aunt owns a house in Thailand and doesn't work when she's there.

If I remember correctly she said you can own the house but not the and it's built on.

[dannyk13]

Pumpjack //this is answerbank maybe you forgot, what is the whole purpose of this site ?//
That is uncalled for, people on here have tried to help you, but we are not financial wizards.What is your reason for not wanting to ask the bank the reason for there actions?

[Peter Pedant]

// If one bank is closing your account I can't see another one letting you open an account.// is not helpful.......

first o all you should write and not phone and keep copies of all letters
Inquire why they have taken this decision
Try to get an (another) interview with the bank manager
and ask what they are going to do with yr money after the date

also ask for all the internal memos with your name on it, that they have issued, under a data access request

at this point - I think it is likely that you have fallen foul of their interpretation of the new Money Laundering Regs - and that they have done an authorised disclosure to the proper authorities ( in this case, their own officer) of suspicious activity - if they HAVE, they will refuse to meet you and answer your questions ( danger of "tipping off")

and that their risk managers have just said - get rid of this guy

and follow their appeals process

i dont wanna know but it sounds as tho you have a lorra baht under the bed - this is classically suspicious - dont send it back to Thai - there will be a bank who will take the money so long as you can openhandedly show it is lawfully got (like you know you can answer convincingly how you sold a house in Thai when foreign nationals cannot hold title in Thailand - little things like that)

I dont want to know how this goes - this is a public forum - and it sounds as if you have quite a long path ahead of you

[dannyk13]

PP//// If one bank is closing your account I can't see another one letting you open an account.// is not helpful....//
Neither is that remark.
Apart from me plenty of people have offered advice which thyey consider to be helpful.

[JJ109]

Umm - you are sort of right, but it gets very, very complicated. You definitely cannot own the land it is built on, and anyone that buys a house but doesn't own the land will find it very difficult to sell if they have to.

[Peter Pedant]

// " why not ask your bank - they will tel you what they will or wont do "//
this is answerbank maybe you forgot, what is the whole purpose of this site ?/

erm ask the bank, because it is the bank that has done it to you and not us. and not even I am a mind reader

There is quite a lot of questions on AB like: "and the doctor said 'oojy-woojy!' and what can he have meant by that do you think?"
and the real answer is: you are gonna have to ask him and not us

Page 2 I hadnt read, Page 1 is full of 'ay dont know, ay'm sure'
page two is quite good if you read it
full of quite good advice - jj's view of title in Thai in my view is correct
My advice on the new MLR ( money laundering regs) is accurate to 2017.

If you have been skewered by MLR - you need professional advice and not us ( again )

[Peter Pedant]

thank you dann y
JJ in my opinion is right - you have to have a Thai national hold the land on your unofficial ( non enforceable ) behalf
and as far as I can see - there is no concept of leasehold in Thai Law - and CERTAINLY no concept of equity ( the branch of law that does leases)

(*) NB this is a first - the first time I have offered an opinion on land title in Thailand

[Grandpappy]

Buy Premium bonds,wait a while then cash them in!

[Peter Pedant]

// Can you please tell me why this is not money laundering?//

because the money is lawfully got - in Thailand - however Baht is a weak currency and I can imagine the Bank being less than ecstatic about £90k in Baht being plonked in dribs and drabs on their desk

I am pretty sure it is not unlawful to import Baht into the UK - even if it might be unlawful to export that amount

[Peter Pedant]

// Buy Premium bonds,wait a while then cash them in!//
because .... you cant pay in Baht

[dannyk13]

PP, it is illegal to import more than £10,000 in cash, no matter what currency it is in.

[Peter Pedant]

// You must declare cash of €10,000 or more (or the equivalent in another currency) if you take it between the UK and any non- EU country. Cash includes: notes and coins.//

but I dont see where it says you go to the slammer if you dont
is this another AB 'everyone knows ....'

[dannyk13]

PP, a while ago there was a programme on tv abput the Boarder Patrol and in one episode a man was caught with £20,000 in his luggage.It was confiscated.

[dannyk13]

https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/business/finance-strategy/new-rules-on-declaring-cash-when-entering-or-leaving-the-uk

[TonyV]

As others have said not surprising banks actions because £90K is a large amount of money to have in crisp £ notes. Bank will be subject to some kind "punishment" if money is found to not to have come from a legitimate source. As Ubasses suggests you need to provide bank with a paper trail for the money to go back to bank with, but I know lots of property deals in Thailand are "cash in hand" , was yours?