When Can Opening a Bank Account as a Sole Proprietor Lead to the Freezing of All Your Funds?

Dariia Lazareva, Attorney at ETERNIX Law Firm, provided expert commentary to Minfin on one of the most pressing issues in financial monitoring: whether a bank can freeze not only a sole proprietor’s business account, but also the client’s personal bank cards and deposits.

The article examines a real-life case, the bank’s position, and the legal mechanisms available to protect clients’ rights.

Key points highlighted in the commentary:

• financial monitoring begins as early as the account-opening stage;

• the bank assesses the client’s overall risk profile rather than evaluating each individual account separately;

• requests made by the bank must be lawful, justified, and proportionate;

• if a client believes that the bank’s actions are unlawful, they have the right to challenge them directly with the bank, before the National Bank of Ukraine, or in court.

Each case involving the application of financial monitoring measures is individual and requires a separate legal assessment. Therefore, a thorough analysis of the specific circumstances is crucial for determining whether the bank’s actions are lawful and for developing an effective legal protection strategy.

Read more at the link.