Nigel Green, the CEO and founder of deVere Group, one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory, asset management, and fintech organisations, has refuted Nigel Farage’s claims that UK banks are politically persecuting him.
He warned that Farage’s “conspiracy theory” serves as a distraction from more significant issues like financial institutions abandoning their customers.
The debate arises from the former UKIP and Brexit Party leader’s assertion that his bank was closing his accounts due to his anti-Brexit stance, which he labels as “serious political persecution.”
Downing Street has confirmed that the Treasury, under Rishi Sunak’s Government, is investigating the claim and assessing whether banks are indeed closing specific accounts.
Green, however, found Farage’s allegations to be baseless, pointing out that Farage’s political views are not new, and questioning why the banks would act against him now.
He also highlighted that the banks in question are hardly ‘woke leftie’ organisations and that they operate on a commercially driven and neutral basis.
“Banks are commercially driven and neutral. But they do, rightly, have an obligation to follow strict rules on unexplained sources of funds, unusual activity, and payments from politically exposed persons or high-risk/sanctioned countries,” Green said.
The deVere CEO also took issue with Farage using banks’ inability to breach GDPR and publicly state the reasons for closing his accounts, leaving Farage free to promote seemingly nonsensical conspiracy theories.
Green stressed that this controversy shifts attention away from genuine failings of banks when they unjustly close customer accounts. He cited the example of many UK high street banks abandoning tens of thousands of ex-pat clients across Europe following the enforcement of post-Brexit rules.
“This has caused considerable disruption and inconvenience for many individuals, families, businesses, and other organisations, especially where there are larger deposits, standing orders, regular payments, and credit facilities to another bank,” Green said.
He noted that ex-pats in Europe could seek a financial services provider that already operates under pan-European rules.
However, Green asserted that if “Sunak’s Government can rush to investigate Farage’s wild conspiracy theories, it should also be able to work on a strategy to resolve the issue of ex-pats being routinely and unceremoniously dropped by UK high street banks.”
