The Chair of the London Assembly, Andrew Boff, has had his bank account closed after using his card to buy a coffee in Ukraine. The veteran Conservative Assembly Member visited Kyiv in late May with a Council of Europe delegation for the Ukraine Recovery Conference's International Summit of Cities and Regions.
Bank flags transaction as sanction risk
Mr Boff spent £36 using his First Direct account, but discovered it no longer worked upon returning to the UK. On July 8, nearly two months later, the bank informed him they had identified transactions made in a sanctioned country. The letter, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, stated: "As part of regulations, we must comply with sanction laws and manage any risks effectively. Following a recent review, we determined that the management of these risks is outside of our acceptable limits."
No appeal possible after 30 years with bank
Despite banking with First Direct for 30 years, Mr Boff is not allowed to appeal, and his account will close in October. He has issued a public warning to others traveling to Ukraine in support of the nation, which has been battling a Russian invasion since 2022, to check if they may also fall foul of sanction rules.
Boff criticizes lack of differentiation in sanctions
Mr Boff, who became Chair of the London Assembly for the third time in May, said: "It is imperative that we have a robust sanctions programme so as to clamp down on the means that the Russian war machine has to fund its brutal war. But a robust sanctions programme is one which can differentiate between buying a coffee in Ukraine and a coffee in Russia. I am disappointed that First Direct have been unable to communicate more comprehensively, and that there has been no way for me to clarify to them what has happened with the hope of regaining access to my savings and direct debits. This is simply unacceptable and I hope that the system can be revised before more Brits are caught this way."
Political support and HSBC's silence
The Tory Assembly Member was backed by Reform UK's Alex Wilson, who told the LDRS: "The debanking of elected politicians is an unfair and deeply undemocratic practice which is tantamount to political interference. Reform UK have suffered from this more than any other party, with the unjust closure of Nigel Farage’s NatWest account as well as the central Party’s MetroBank account a few years ago. It’s concerning that the trend continues. I hope that First Direct rescind this shocking decision and apologise to Mr Boff." HSBC, which issued the instruction to First Direct, declined to comment.
