More than 800 Canadians have had their bank accounts arbitrarily removed over the last five years, with many never receiving an explanation for the closures, according to figures obtained by a recent access-to-information request.
The request revealed over 250 supporters of last year’s Freedom Convoy in Ottawa were ‘debanked,’ another 170 had Bitcoin wallets taken away. The total amount confiscated is estimated at 7.8 million Canadian dollars ($5.7 million).
Canadian federal law only permits banks to cancel the accounts of those suspected of criminality. However, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada admitted that the closures excluded cases involving crimes, such as terrorism and money laundering, and was unable to provide a reason as to why the accounts were closed.
General counsel for the Bankers Association in Canada, Angelina Mason, explained at a hearing at the Commons financial committee last year, “We primarily relied upon the names provided by the [Royal Canadian Mounted Police],” before admitting that there were a number of people who had their accounts frozen who did not appear on lists provided by the authorities.
“Debanking” has become more prominent across a number of advanced nations following the closure of Brexit leader Nigel Farage‘s private bank account earlier this year because of his friendship with former President Donald Trump. The co-chairman of Alternative for Germany was similarly debanked due to his political affiliations last week.
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