Bank Interrogation

[Oakland]

Hi Guys

Just wanted to check if you have experienced this with your Bank .

We are with Hellenic , over the last few months we have had some money transferred to our account, not huge sums , ranging from 1500 to 5000 euros .
Now the bank have questioned why this is happening , and to top it off , as we have been drawing this money they want us to inform them where we spent it and provide proof / receipts for the purchases .

Can they do this and is it correct , that we cannot spend our own money on what we like .

Les

[PW in Polemi]

I would think it is part of their anti money laundering regulations.
My mother in UK wanted to pay a cheque into my UK bank account and had to provide full name, dob, address before my bank would accept the cheque for credit to my account.

[WHL]

Not only you and its not the local banks doing, this is to do with anti money laundering laws , about a year ago my BOC manager asked me to step into his office while I was in the bank, and started to ask me similar questions, this is a guy who invited me to his children's weddings and has been round to ours for meals, why get wound up the guys only doing his job, after ten minutes and metrio coffee it was all done and forgotten.

[jeba]

Note to myself: Don't forget to cancel your Cypiot bank account. Not needed and too much hassle.

[PolemIan]

100% AML and KYC (know your customer) especially if from a non EU country. Don’t forget that many of us will have given estimates of annual ins and outs to and from our CY accounts when opening them or as part of a periodic review, so if they see anything outside of those patterns the systems are there to protect the bank from fines for failure to implement AML rules and the customer from potential fraud.

Ian

[jeba]

100% AML and KYC (know your customer) especially if from a non EU country. Don’t forget that many of us will have given estimates of annual ins and outs to and from our CY accounts when opening them or as part of a periodic review, so if they see anything outside of those patterns the systems are there to protect the bank from fines for failure to implement AML rules and the customer from potential fraud.

Ian

Sure, but Cyprus seems to have an aml and kyc obsession. All I've ever heard from my German banks when transferring larger sums from abroad was a note on my account t statements that I should call a freephone number and report the transaction to the central bank. Even when I had sold my property I only received a call to offer their asset management services.

[Jimgym]

The only time I was questioned was when I deposited the proceeds of our house sale. I took a copy of the sale contract and all was ok.we did supply estimates of our account incomings etc and have stuck with th that so I guess that’s why we’ve had no real issue. We bank with Hellenic.

[WHL]

100% AML and KYC (know your customer) especially if from a non EU country. Don’t forget that many of us will have given estimates of annual ins and outs to and from our CY accounts when opening them or as part of a periodic review, so if they see anything outside of those patterns the systems are there to protect the bank from fines for failure to implement AML rules and the customer from potential fraud.

Ian

Sure, but Cyprus seems to have an aml and kyc obsession. All I've ever heard from my German banks when transferring larger sums from abroad was a note on my account t statements that I should call a freephone number and report the transaction to the central bank. Even when I had sold my property I only received a call to offer their asset management services.

Got to agree German banks are fantastic especially, when they partner up with Liechtenstein banks, so jeba do as all a favour and don't try and tell us how good German banks are , when it comes to money laundering they are as Bent as the best.

[Devil]

I have two accounts, one in the Hellenic and the other in a Swiss bank. Why is it that I have problems with the Hellenic who have sent me forms three times in the past two or three months, asking for the same thing over a tightly packed two page questionnaire each time? With the Swiss bank, I have no problems whatsoever and I don't even need to switch on my mobile to make a transaction (which I do, twice, with Hellenic). I already closed an account I had with the BOC because of the combination of their swingeing costs and their love of bureaucracy.

I guess that most of the problem does not come from the Hellenic itself but from the Central Bank of Cyprus.

[PolemIan]

100% AML and KYC (know your customer) especially if from a non EU country. Don’t forget that many of us will have given estimates of annual ins and outs to and from our CY accounts when opening them or as part of a periodic review, so if they see anything outside of those patterns the systems are there to protect the bank from fines for failure to implement AML rules and the customer from potential fraud.

Ian

Sure, but Cyprus seems to have an aml and kyc obsession. All I've ever heard from my German banks when transferring larger sums from abroad was a note on my account t statements that I should call a freephone number and report the transaction to the central bank. Even when I had sold my property I only received a call to offer their asset management services.

Can’t comment on individual cases, but I’m guessing as a German citizen the German banks probably have better data about their local customers than the Cyprus do about you and each bank will have different operational priorities and targets to meet, as any business would, but within a regulatory framework in this case. Cyprus has minimal credit reference data for example compared to U.K. to operates very differently in that area of Financial Services.

Fines are significant, back in the U.K. only last December NatWest was fined a not insignificant £265 million.

Do you have experience of working in Financial Services Governance?

Ian

[The Aquila]

Note to myself: Don't forget to cancel your Cypiot bank account. Not needed and too much hassle.

If you’ve got nothing to hide then why are these legal checks “to much hassle” ?

[jeba]

Note to myself: Don't forget to cancel your Cypiot bank account. Not needed and too much hassle.

If you’ve got nothing to hide then why are these legal checks “to much hassle” ?

E.g. because they insisted I showed up at their branch to identify myself (corona or not) and blocked my account until I went there. I might easily have missed a payment deadline. It took almost two weeks to be able to make payment for the purchase of a plot.
When I asked what if I was in Germany and unable to come to their branch, they had the cheek to say that in this case I had to travel to a Cypriot consulate (the closest to where I live when in Germany is 120 km away).
They hadn´t even bothered to inform me of that my account was blocked. I only realized when I wanted to make payment.

[jeba]

Can’t comment on individual cases, but I’m guessing as a German citizen the German banks probably have better data about their local customers than the Cyprus do about you

I somehow doubt that. I´ve never been asked to provide any info about my financial situation (and I´ve held my accounts between 10 and 35 years). Except when I applied for a mortgage - but that was at a different bank, not one of those I have current accounts with. The only time I was contacted by their regulatory departments was when I told them I had emigrated and they wanted my new tax ID.

Do you have experience of working in Financial Services Governance?

Not at all.

[Kili01]

All this is interesting, scrupulous attention to the regulations by zealous banks.
But at the same time is this a smokescreen for certain other transactions with certain foreign nationals?
Has money laundering been truly stamped out in Cyprus?
Dee

[sunspot]

We bank with Hellenic and also have a Transferwise account. Were charged a fee when withdrawing cash from our Transferwise account at Hellenic ATM. So we decided we should keep our Hellenic account….unless anyone has found a way around this?

[Enigma]

they want us to inform them where we spent it and provide proof / receipts for the purchases .

Just tell them you blew it at the casino or whatever. Honestly, why is it any of their business what you spend YOUR money on.

[jeba]

All this is interesting, scrupulous attention to the regulations by zealous banks.
But at the same time is this a smokescreen for certain other transactions with certain foreign nationals?
Has money laundering been truly stamped out in Cyprus?
Dee

I doubt that very much. Those who want to do money laundring will find a way. E.g. using cryptocurrencies or submitting fake documents as proof of origin. Banks won't be able to check the authenticity of foreign documents.

[WHL]

they want us to inform them where we spent it and provide proof / receipts for the purchases .

Just tell them you blew it at the casino or whatever. Honestly, why is it any of their business what you spend YOUR money on.

There are rules you sign up to when you moved over to Cyprus, one of those rules is that you have enough money coming in to take care of yourself,and you will not be a burden on the state, once you agree to those rules then they have every right to check that you are sticking to them
.

[jeba]

they want us to inform them where we spent it and provide proof / receipts for the purchases .

Just tell them you blew it at the casino or whatever. Honestly, why is it any of their business what you spend YOUR money on.

There are rules you sign up to when you moved over to Cyprus, one of those rules is that you have enough money coming in to take care of yourself,and you will not be a burden on the state, once you agree to those rules then they have every right to check that you are sticking to them
.

No, the bank doesn't. The immigration authority does. And only until you have achieved permanent residence status.

[WHL]

Just tell them you blew it at the casino or whatever. Honestly, why is it any of their business what you spend YOUR money on.

There are rules you sign up to when you moved over to Cyprus, one of those rules is that you have enough money coming in to take care of yourself,and you will not be a burden on the state, once you agree to those rules then they have every right to check that you are sticking to them
.

No, the bank doesn't. The immigration authority does. And only until you have achieved permanent residence status.

The Banks are instructed by the authorities to check on peoples financial incomings and out goings, and the EU to check for money laundering..., as you don't even want a Cyprus Bank account , this doesn't really concern you? you seem to have plenty to say on the failings of Cyprus Banks, but on the involvement of German money laundering with Liechtenstein banks you dont have much to say?