PrivatBank froze a client's account for receiving 11,500 UAH from cryptocurrency sales on Binance. Here's the court's ruling on the matter.

A man received 11,500 hryvnias for selling assets on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. However, PrivatBank blocked his accounts, prompting him to demand the financial institution lift the restrictions. This is stated in the decision of the Bereznovsky District Court of the Rivne Region, published on September 16, 2024.

On December 4, 2023, a notification was sent to the man’s account on the cryptocurrency exchange "Binance" indicating that a buyer had placed an order to purchase cryptocurrency. Consequently, he sold his cryptocurrency, 302.93 USDT, for 11,500 hryvnias to the buyer, and the order was executed and subsequently closed by "Binance." The citizen did not verify the name of the payer for this transaction, as he had previously sold his USDT assets multiple times without any issues. After the funds were credited to his bank card, opened at JSC CB "PrivatBank", it was blocked.

On December 11, 2023, the man contacted PrivatBank to clarify the reasons for the blocking of his accounts and demanded their unblocking. After receiving no response, he filed a complaint with the police to initiate criminal proceedings regarding unlawful actions against him under Article 190 (fraud) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, involving the buyer of the cryptocurrency. He was provided with a certificate regarding the examination of his complaint, indicating that the investigation found the bank card was blocked due to an inquiry made to JSC CB "PrivatBank" by an individual he did not know. In addition to the aforementioned social payment bank card account, other bank accounts were also blocked.

Case Review

A bank employee informed him that he needed to provide the bank with information/documents regarding the crediting of funds (11,500 hryvnias) for the transaction. Without the necessary documents confirming the origin of the funds, the restrictions would not be lifted.

"The legitimacy of cryptocurrency payments cannot be confirmed, as the names of the sender and recipient do not match; placing the client on the list of individuals with restrictions on banking services is lawful. For this reason, business relations were terminated on March 27, 2024 - the relevant transactions fell under financial monitoring. A request was made for the issuance of the remaining funds at the cash desk, and the funds were disbursed; all of the client’s funds were collected in account 2909 for further disbursement at the cash desk.

What punishment did the court impose?

The court denied the man’s claim. The case lacks proper and admissible evidence of the bank's unlawful actions.