A client received a deposit of 20,000 hryvnias, but PrivatBank froze their accounts. Here's the court's decision on the matter.

PrivatBank unexpectedly blocked a man's accounts. It later became clear that he was unable to explain the source of the funds credited in the amount of 20 thousand hryvnias. This is stated in the decision of the October District Court of Zaporizhzhia, published on January 24, 2025.

In July 2022, PJSC "PrivatBank" without prior notice blocked the man's bank cards and ceased servicing his bank accounts. In order to clarify the reasons for the card block, he repeatedly contacted PJSC "PrivatBank" with requests. On October 19, 2022, and November 22, 2022, he received responses from PJSC "PrivatBank" stating that the basis for the termination of service was clause 2.1.4.2.3 of the Terms and Conditions for banking services, according to which, in cases of violation by the client of the requirements of current legislation of Ukraine and/or the terms of this agreement and/or in the event of unauthorized overdraft, the bank has the right to stop processing transactions on the card (block the card) and/or declare the card invalid until the specified violations are rectified, as well as demand early fulfillment of debt obligations in full or in the part established by the bank in case of the client's failure to meet his debt obligations and other obligations under this agreement.

The above responses prompted the man to contact PJSC "PrivatBank" again on February 3, 2023, with a request to withdraw funds through the PJSC "PrivatBank" cash department and to provide a statement of account transactions for 2022 to his email. On February 6, 2023, he received a response from PJSC "PrivatBank," indicating that the basis for terminating service was clause 1.1.10.5,2 of the Terms and Conditions of banking services, which states that in cases of violation by the client of the requirements of current Ukrainian legislation and/or the terms of this agreement and/or in the event of unauthorized overdraft, the bank has the right to stop processing transactions on the payment card (block the payment card) and/or declare it invalid until the specified violations are rectified, as well as demand early fulfillment of debt obligations in full or in the part established by the bank in case of the client's failure to meet his debt obligations and other obligations under this agreement. Due to the discrepancies in the responses from PJSC "PrivatBank" regarding the legal grounds for blocking the bank accounts, on February 24, 2023, he submitted a request to the police at his actual place of residence, asking them to investigate the reason for the blocking of his cards by PJSC "PrivatBank."

On March 6, 2023, the man received a response from law enforcement, stating that the investigation found that his relationship with PJSC "PrivatBank" had signs of civil legal relations. There were no signs of administrative or criminal proceedings during the review of the request. He asks the court to oblige PJSC "PrivatBank" to remove the obstacles to using and disposing of the funds in his accounts by unblocking the specified card accounts.

At the court hearing, the representative of PrivatBank noted that the man's account is not blocked; rather, his payment card service has been limited according to the terms of the agreement, and the card is the property of the bank. He has the right to contact the bank and retrieve his funds.

What did the court decide?

The court denied the man's claim. He received a deposit of 20 thousand hryvnias into his account but did not provide the bank with any explanations or evidence regarding the source of the funds.

"The court found that there are no violations in the actions of the bank as mentioned by the plaintiff in his claim regarding this case; the bank acted in compliance with the requirements of the current legislation on financial monitoring, and, conversely, the plaintiff's claim in this case is unfounded and unproven, and there are no legal grounds for its satisfaction by the court," the court emphasized.