Ah, reason 1,000,001 why as bad as the US is, the UK is infinitely worse.
Apparently this guy's account was frozen by an ex parte request from the government. In the US the ability to go ex parte to the judge without any prior notice to the other party is extremely limited- like restraining orders for an imminent threat of violence, or serious crimes where evidence is presented that if you are notified of an investigation or court proceedings you will destroy evidence or flee. Certainly not for what appears to be an entirely civil matter.
It's just authoritarianism wrapped with a thin veneer of "democracy" over there.
De-banking is different than freezing funds. If you're de-banked, your existing accounts are closed and you can't open new ones.
While this makes life difficult to navigate, and almost impossible to navigate for businesses (which is why it's used against marijuana and gun dealers), nobody is actually seizing your funds. There are laws that govern how long a bank can hold on to your money if it closes your account, so you're getting your money back on that timeline at the latest.
In this case, it's a court order freezing his assets. There is a significantly higher bar to do that in the US, and as I said, only in exigent circumstances can they do it without having an actual court hearing where you're allowed to plead your side to the judge.
Unless you can't find a bank willing to open an account. I knew someone that got debunked that told the bank "that's great, give me my money in cash," and the bank said no.
Ah, reason 1,000,001 why as bad as the US is, the UK is infinitely worse.
Apparently this guy's account was frozen by an ex parte request from the government. In the US the ability to go ex parte to the judge without any prior notice to the other party is extremely limited- like restraining orders for an imminent threat of violence, or serious crimes where evidence is presented that if you are notified of an investigation or court proceedings you will destroy evidence or flee. Certainly not for what appears to be an entirely civil matter.
It's just authoritarianism wrapped with a thin veneer of "democracy" over there.
Hate to tell you, but the US has been debanking people for over 15 years with no recourse available for the debanked.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRj9pIITwEU
De-banking is different than freezing funds. If you're de-banked, your existing accounts are closed and you can't open new ones.
While this makes life difficult to navigate, and almost impossible to navigate for businesses (which is why it's used against marijuana and gun dealers), nobody is actually seizing your funds. There are laws that govern how long a bank can hold on to your money if it closes your account, so you're getting your money back on that timeline at the latest.
In this case, it's a court order freezing his assets. There is a significantly higher bar to do that in the US, and as I said, only in exigent circumstances can they do it without having an actual court hearing where you're allowed to plead your side to the judge.
Unless you can't find a bank willing to open an account. I knew someone that got debunked that told the bank "that's great, give me my money in cash," and the bank said no.