# Frozen bank accounts



## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Three British couples I know (one resident, two non-resident) have had their bank accounts frozen by Unicaja because they didn't notice a request to take in details of the source of their income by 28 June 2016. The request was tucked in with all the payment slips at the beginninf of June, not marked urgent or distinguishable in any other way. 

_"Unicaja Banco, al igual que el resto de entidades financieras, está obligada de acuerdo a la Ley 10/2010 a recabar de sus clientes copia digitizada de los documentos que acrediten su actividad o fuente de ingresos."_

Now their cards don't work, they can't withdraw money or use online banking, although direct debits are still being paid. 

Has anyone heard of any other banks doing this?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> Three British couples I know (one resident, two non-resident) have had their bank accounts frozen by Unicaja because they didn't notice a request to take in details of the source of their income by 28 June 2016. The request was tucked in with all the payment slips at the beginninf of June, not marked urgent or distinguishable in any other way.
> 
> _"Unicaja Banco, al igual que el resto de entidades financieras, está obligada de acuerdo a la Ley 10/2010 a recabar de sus clientes copia digitizada de los documentos que acrediten su actividad o fuente de ingresos."_
> 
> ...


OOps, post eliminated


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## uora (Jul 19, 2011)

Alcalaina said:


> Three British couples I know (one resident, two non-resident) have had their bank accounts frozen by Unicaja because they didn't notice a request to take in details of the source of their income by 28 June 2016. The request was tucked in with all the payment slips at the beginninf of June, not marked urgent or distinguishable in any other way.
> 
> _"Unicaja Banco, al igual que el resto de entidades financieras, está obligada de acuerdo a la Ley 10/2010 a recabar de sus clientes copia digitizada de los documentos que acrediten su actividad o fuente de ingresos."_
> 
> ...


Yes, I've heard about people getting their accounts closed because they didn't show proof of their income and passports. They were all non-residents. My bank only asked for a copy of my passport, but the banks are all doing this differently. It is a law against whitewashing of money.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

In fairness this did apply to all residents including the Spanish so not targeted at expats, in fact I even think they extended the time for expats longer.

Shouldn't providing the bank with the relevant info now sort it out? 

He asks knowing full well nothing is ever that logical here.


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## uora (Jul 19, 2011)

Pazcat said:


> In fairness this did apply to all residents including the Spanish so not targeted at expats, in fact I even think they extended the time for expats longer.
> 
> Shouldn't providing the bank with the relevant info now sort it out?
> 
> He asks knowing nothing is ever that logical here.


Maybe it is because I've only discussed this with non-residents 
I believe it was a time limit for opening the accounts (without too much trouble) but I don't know how long this period was.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Has everyone else been asked to provide this information by their Spanish bank? I bank with Banco Popular and my husband banks with Sabadell, and neither of us has. We did have to supply proof of ID documents a while back, but definitely haven't been asked for proof of the source of our income.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> Has everyone else been asked to provide this information by their Spanish bank? I bank with Banco Popular and my husband banks with Sabadell, and neither of us has. We did have to supply proof of ID documents a while back, but definitely haven't been asked for proof of the source of our income.


We've had nothing but then all our income comes in by credit transfer so the source is shown, however for those who may be paying in their "income" as cash over the counter, I can see that banks might want to ask questions before Hacienda comes knocking on the door and, in fact, it may be that the banks are acting on the instructions of Hacienda.


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## pedro6 (Aug 4, 2016)

my bank is BBVA and all my friends who use different banks had to provide copies of their passports etc. 
I know of one couple that failed to provide info. and their account was frozen.
The law in respect of money laundering in Spain changed requiring all banks to obtain this info.
Just provide the bank with the info. and they will EVENTUALLY unfreeze your account.
Good luck


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

Lynn R said:


> Has everyone else been asked to provide this information by their Spanish bank? I bank with Banco Popular and my husband banks with Sabadell, and neither of us has. We did have to supply proof of ID documents a while back, but definitely haven't been asked for proof of the source of our income.


I was asked last year by Sabadell bank to actually take my ID into the branch that I originally set up the account. I didn't have to prove where the money came from. 

Steve


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## pedro6 (Aug 4, 2016)

I think you are correct although if you receive a pension it is normally clear to the bank as to the origin of the money, if you receive money from other sources the bank may ask for further info. because of money laundering.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

tebo53 said:


> I was asked last year by Sabadell bank to actually take my ID into the branch that I originally set up the account. I didn't have to prove where the money came from.
> 
> Steve


Thanks, that tallies with our experience.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> Thanks, that tallies with our experience.


This is why I eliminated my original post. We had to give poof of ID, not where the money came from, but I believe you have to if talking about large transfers and maybe large amounts in accounts.
We have dealings with 4 different banks. All of them asked for proof of ID and as I am sure everyone is tired of hearing, my husband is Spanish, so it's nothing to do with resident or not, Spanish or not.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Yes, we all had to give proof of our ID by April 2016 I think. But this asking for evidence of source of income is something new. 

In the cases I mentioned, we are only talking of small amounts of money - property owners living in the UK transferring just enough to pay the bills on their Spanish properties and provide a bit of spending money while they are here. 

I'm wondering if it's just Unicaja being over-zealous, which is why I asked whether other banks were doing it too?


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> Yes, we all had to give proof of our ID by April 2016 I think. But this asking for evidence of source of income is something new.
> 
> In the cases I mentioned, we are only talking of small amounts of money - property owners living in the UK transferring just enough to pay the bills on their Spanish properties and provide a bit of spending money while they are here.
> 
> I'm wondering if it's just Unicaja being over-zealous, which is why I asked whether other banks were doing it too?


I also had to give ID and proof of the source of income to Cajamar by the end of March 2015 I think. I was in the US at the time and only found out by chance when I checked my bank balance online around the 29th March and saw a message about it. I panicked and sent an email with a copy of my passport and residencia and then when I got back to Spain I had to show my source of income and sign a form to verify it. The notice said I had 3 months to provide the information before it was frozen. It is a residents account but I had not used that account for a while. 

Another account I had with Banco Popular was blocked but I didnt have anything in it, as I had stopped using it. Again, it was a resident account but hadn't been used for a long time so maybe if the accounts weren't used frequently and only showed occasional transfers, that would be a red flag for banks?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> Yes, we all had to give proof of our ID by April 2016 I think. But this asking for evidence of source of income is something new.
> 
> In the cases I mentioned, we are only talking of small amounts of money - property owners living in the UK transferring just enough to pay the bills on their Spanish properties and provide a bit of spending money while they are here.
> 
> I'm wondering if it's just Unicaja being over-zealous, which is why I asked whether other banks were doing it too?


The banks were given general guidelines that every bank has interpreted as they see fit, so it's possible that Unicaja has decided to do this whilst others haven't


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