BTC Exchange Owner Sued Two Australian Banks For Accounts Closure

A BTC exchange owner under the name Allan Flynn sued two Australian banks for about $290,000 for unlawful discrimination in getting involved with cryptocurrencies so let’s read more about it in the latest BTC news.

The legal battle came right once the Australian allegedly suffered extreme losses in his crypto business after the banks ANZ, Westpac shut down his account as reported a day ago. According to the proceedings filed at the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, the BTC exchange owner Allan Flynn alleged that the action of the banks was illegal as they closed his accounts without warning him before or giving him any reason what so ever.

Flynn owns an AUSTRAC-registered crypto exchange that has about 450 customers. with the usage of this platform, he helps clients buy crypto assets like BTC. The Australian Financial Review revealed that the complaint has more than 20 accounts that were shut down in the past three years by five Australian banks like NAB, ING, CBA, Bendigo Bank, and a few others. After the accounts were closed, Flynn said that he opened new accounts with ANZ and Westpac and even informed the banks that the account was indeed for crypto transactions. However, both of his accounts were closed after three years of using them. He said that he received a message from Westpac saying that the accounts were closed in about five years so an effort to open a new account was not successful.

He requested to know why was his account closed and why he is not able to open a new one and the bank said that they are still investigating and it could be a question of crypto fraud. Flynn said that Westpac offered him a compensation of about $200 for not providing a “reasonable notice before closing the account.” However, he hasn’t even gotten a cent. For one thing, crypto, as well as exchanges, are legal in Australia and there are no laws that prohibit banks from rendering services to crypto traders but he noted that he is not the only one that was in this situation:

 “I am by no means alone or the first. I know of at least one other trader who has had accounts closed more than 60 times, how am I supposed to run a lawful business if I can’t get a bank account?”

According to the reports, Flynn demands a settlement of AUD$375,000 from the banks with the hearing expected to happen in March.