In a statement, Barclays said the sudden freezing of personal and current accounts in the UAE was due to the violation of local financial regulation. The statement from the British bank reiterated that the said closures were not related to the sale of the business.
Many personal and business account holders informed Arabian Business that they received a phone call from the bank last Tuesday informing them that the accounts were being frozen. As of the last count, Arabian Business estimates about 500 accounts have been frozen.
Many customers complained that there was no notice provided as to the closures and the bank's Downtown branch staff had struggled why the accounts were being closed. Last Wednesday, a Barclays spokesperson told Arabian Business that the said action was 'routine' and were done in compliance with UAE financial regulations. The banks said that the personal accounts were closed due to expired residency visa information or expired trade licenses for corporate account holders.
In an emailed statement, Barclays said, "Barclay routinely reviews all its accounts as part o the local and global regulatory requirements. In ther UAE, as part of review process, the bank has identified certain accounts with expired/deificient information and/or documentation and have repeatedly reached out to customers to remediate. For customers who did not provide the necessary consequential action and hence accounts were blocked. Currently, Barclays is working with impacted customers on a case by case basis to extend support when required."
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