Iranians Suing UK Bank for Blocking Accounts, Seeking £1.5mln in Damage

A group of Iranian nationals are suing troubled British lender Metro Bank for suspending their accounts without prior notice or explanation.

The group comprising 17 claimants is seeking at least 1.5 million pounds in losses for being denied access to their accounts and cash between May and September 2019, their lawyers at Ronald Fletcher Baker say.

They include Iranians living in the UK and several UK-based businesses, including an engineering firm and a consultancy, the law firm said Tuesday.

Rokhsareh Vahid, a sanctions and banking specialist at Ronald Fletcher Baker, said the clients are all UK residents who did not use their accounts in an unlawful or illegitimate manner.

“Metro Bank has not alleged that any of the claimants were involved in any illegal or illegitimate activities and it has released the restrictions on some accounts during this process, which effectively confirms that our clients were not involved in any wrongdoing,” she told the Guardian.

As a result of Metro Bank’s decision, the claimants suffered financially and one business was forced to lay off staff after its accounts were restricted for nearly two months, Vahid said.

“One can imagine how difficult it would be for individuals to meet their financial responsibilities when their account is suddenly restricted without an explanation and the restriction continues for so long,” she said.

Metro is already facing a US class action suit over an accounting blunder involving 900 million pounds of loans between March 2018 and May 2019.

Iranians living in Britain often have to spend great efforts when opening a bank account and many who already have accounts have complained about their accounts being closed.

They say some banks refuse to provide reasons why they close accounts of Iranian nationals, while others mention the US sanctions against the Islamic Republic as the main problem.

According to UK law firm Blackstone Solicitors, the bank accounts of Iranians were being closed despite the removal of economic sanctions after the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.

The lawsuit by Iranians comes amid reports that the British government is taking a new approach to the payment of an outstanding £400 million debt it owes by to Iran.