Barclays Bank Asks Nigerians With Less Than £100,000 Deposit To Close Their Accounts

United Kingdom top bank, Barclays has asked Nigerians, expatriates with less than £100,000 deposit to close their accounts.

In a letter dated June 12, 2017, the bank informed their customers of the new policy and asked them to increase the minimum client balance requirement for international banking service.

The letter read,

“The new minimum level will now be £100,000. Top up your savings and investments to £100,000 or more before 1 August 2017, to continue with the service, or close your account and transfer your monies to another provider without charge,”

“We understand that you may be disappointed by this and we will aim to offer you as much assistance as possible during this transition period.”

According to reports, the new policy might have been caused by the Panama Papers leak, which showed how Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, helped clients evade tax through the use of offshore accounts and various cases of money laundering.

As far back as 2013, according to The Cable, the bank announced that it would focus on 70 countries globally and customers in those that are not considered as core as others. In recent times, high-security measures have made it more difficult for foreigners to open accounts with high street banks in the UK.