BANCO SABADELL IRREGULARITIES AND POTENTIAL FRAUD - Page 2

Hi

And Yes, but I am not aware of any in UK.

So far I have reported in an Official Complaint Banco Sabadell to;

1.  The Bank Of England

2.  The Financial Conduct Authority.

3.  The UK Serious Fraud Office [UKSFO]

4.  The UKFSO Media branch

5.  The Spanish Anti-Fraud Office.

Surely somebody must sit back and think...."Wait a minute..............."

Max

Its been 2 years and you would have thought someone would have picked up on the complaints, it wouldnt be the same in the UK

I tried UK branch of Sabadell, which were quick to rpely and helpful but they could only give me spanish contact details and not do anything more

Oh I agree completely, they would be down on the bank like a ton of bricks.

But this is Spain.

As luck would have it, Spain is part of the EU, which has a HUGE regulatory body ;-)

Which I intend to exploit.

I will sling mud, constantly and with accuracy until it sticks and I dont care how I have to do it.

Max

Revolut has even better rates, albeit just by a tiny bit.

Sorry to hear your story but whatever's gone on attempting to brand it as racist is ridiculous and will get you nowhere.

Hi matelotmax,

My first thought on reading your post was whether, in view of Brexit, TorFX is licensed to trade in the EU.  When I started to look into it, I came across this review (dated January 2022):

https://transumo.com/torfx-review/

Perhaps these extracts may be relevant:

"TorFX has offices in the UK, Europe, Australia, and is available for individuals and businesses based in the UK, EU (except Spain and Portugal), Asia, Australia, and New Zealand and offers transfers in 40+ currencies."

"Once amounts get over $10,000, anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism regulations can mean banks (the ones at each end of the transaction) and the service you use (like TorFX) all need to do extra checks. This can mean your money can get frozen or your account gets disabled while things get sorted out. When this happens mid-transfer this can be very distressing."

In 2015, the EU strengthened their anti money laundering and tax evasion legislation.  Most countries assigned responsibility for its implementation to their banking industry.  In Spain, this has taken about 2 years longer than the EU's 2017 deadline and it sounds as though you may have been caught up in that.  I would certainly ask TorFX about Transumo's quote, "TorFX..... is available for individuals..... in the EU (EXCEPT SPAIN and Portugal)"?

Like HJ and Steve, I would highly recommend Wise, as they are licensed to trade in the EU and have an EU IBAN.

Good luck and do let us know how you get on.  As you say, this is important to all UK citizens, especially post-Brexit, whether we're resident or non-resident.

Kind regards, 

Kim

Hello Kim

And first off thank you very much for such a lucid and illustrative message ;-)

In response to your message, might offer my insights [this is not to contradict you, because I don't think I can contradict or argue with such a logical and FACTUAL response];

1.  TorFx might not have an office in Spain [butit does have one within the EU], but that doesn't mean that they don't do business in Spain.

I have been using TorFx, without incident for the past three years including transfers of 6 figures plus to purchase my property and regular 5 figure transfer for major projects on that property. No incidents occurred.  The latest transfer was October last year, again without incident.  Funds moved swiftly and smoothly from UK to EU[Spain] without hindrance. However, TorFx have advised me that they have had problems with Banco Sabadell for "over 6 months" and always "when returning funds to UK". NEVER when sending funds from the same account TO Spain.  I believe that the expression is you cannot have your cake and eat it.  IF the account is tainted as "Fraudulent" in EITHER direction then it is reprehensible for any institution aware of this fact to continue financial commerce with the accused institution. SO - either the account is "Fraudulent" as alleged and Banco Sabadell are actively - with foreknowledge - participating with that account, then Banco Sabadell are guilty of "conspiracy to commit international fraud". Or the account is not fraudulent and Banco Sabadell have either gone off the rails [I had a similar incident some years ago with HSBC attempting to corner the market for my international money transfers, and they froze my accounts, insisting that I MUST attend my local branch in UK - at the time I was on Operational Tour with the UK Military in the Gulf - I sorted HSBC very swiftly!] and are either through inertia/inefficiency blocking the transfer due to unsubstantiated allegations.

Either way, it is the DUTY of Banco Sabadell to report such suspicions, for the investigation of money laundering and anti-terrorism. To that end I have asked repeatedly for BS to show proof that I may pass on to the authorities or show proof that they are already in contact with the authorities.  BS have stonewalled me at every attempt.

2.  "Once amounts get over $10,000, anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism regulations can mean banks (the ones at each end of the transaction)".  The amount requested to be transferred was not above $10,000 or even above Euro 10,000, [which is significantly less].   This was done deliberately due to the regulations you point out and of which I was fully aware. 

So, we come back to the fundamental question of why was the account highlighted as a "Fraudulent account" and because of the seriousness of that allegation which [if any] anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism authorities have been contacted.

Just to put things into perspective.  I gave been chasing this with Banco Sabadell  for over 2 months - constant stonewalling despite my copying in ALL my correspondence to there complaints dept, their legal dept, my branch and the originator of the allegation at Santa Pola. Yesterday, [SUNDAY] I contacted the Bank of England department responsibile for anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism, fraudulent activity etc & WITHIN 24 I have received definite guidance "due to the seriousness of your complaint" - not my words, the words of the Bank of England!

I will keep pursuing this because I hate being pushed from pillar to post and being ignored with a genuine complaint, and as I believe, I am not alone in this.

Regards

Max

Hi Max,

I understand everything that you're saying, but I wouldn't discount the fact that it could be both Sabadell AND Tor-FX that are giving you the runaround - that's why I always try to find independent reviews.  

Have you asked Tor-FX why Transumo would state that Tor-FX's services are available in the EU, "except Spain"?  Transumo's review is current (January 2022), so I would be asking Tor-FX for an explanation 🤔

Kind regards, 

Kim

What do you expect from Bonco  sabadell ,they are XXXX, !!! .