“Life In The UK Is Becoming Completely Unlivable”: Brexiteer Farage Is Being Systemically Un-Banked

Despite winning the “news presenter of the year” award, Nigel Farage has mixed feelings this week.In the following clip, he reveals his concern about a recent development that may significantly impact his future career and even his ability to live in the UK. The Brexit-provocateur shares his experience of having his bank accounts abruptly closed by a major banking group, without a valid reason provided.

Worse still, he discloses his attempts to open new accounts with several other banks, all of which have been unsuccessful so far.

Farage speculates on three possible reasons for his inability to secure a bank account:

1. the EU’s definition of a politically exposed person (PEP),
2. prejudice from corporate institutions, and
3. false allegations made by a member of Parliament regarding funds from the Russian government.

If they can do it to him, do you have any doubt that you are at risk?

Watch the full Farage address below:

The establishment are trying to force me out of the UK by closing my bank accounts.

I have been given no explanation or recourse as to why this is happening to me.

This is serious political persecution at the very highest level of our system.

If they can do it to me, they… pic.twitter.com/O4xQ1h79ub

— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) June 29, 2023

Full Transcript (emphasis ours):

Hello there.

Now you would think in the light of this that I’d be pretty happy – I mean, you know, ‘news presenter of the year’ award was pretty cool and a massive thanks to all of those people out there that voted for me.

The establishment were of course appalled because they in their little London bubble think that I’m incredibly unpopular.

Well in Notting Hill I might be maybe, not quite so in the rest of the country.

But actually truth is, I’m not full of the joys of spring.

I’ve been living with something for the last couple of months that may well fundamentally affect my future career going on from here, and whether I could even stay living in this country.

I have been with the same banking group since 1980. I’ve had my personal accounts with them since that date and my business accounts right through the 1990s when I worked in the city of London, and in recent years too, and with one of the subsidiaries of this big banking group – one with a very prestigious name.

But I won’t name them just yet.

I got a phone call a couple of months ago to say we are closing your accounts.

I asked why – no reason was given. I was told a letter would come which would explain everything. The letter came through and simply said we are closing your accounts – we want to finish it all by a date which is around about now.

I didn’t quite know what to make of it. I complained. I emailed the chairman. A Lackey phoned me to say that it was a commercial decision – which I have to say I don’t believe for a single moment.

So I thought well there we are, I’ll have to go and find a different bank.

I’ve been to six, uh no seven, banks actually and asked them all could I have a personal and a business account and the answer has been no in every single case.

There is nothing irregular or unusual about what I do – the payments that go in and come out every month are pretty much the same. I maintain in my business account quite a big positive cash balance, which I guess with interest rates where they are is pretty good for the bank too.

So why is this happening to me?

Well one explanation is this – a few years ago the European Union came up with a definition of somebody called a ‘PEP’ -a ‘politically exposed person’.

Now this could range from anybody from a prime minister down to a local councilor. I think the reason for it was, you know, ‘were people in politics open to bribery’, ‘could foreign governments from Ukraine or China or wherever else it may be, could they be pumping money into the, you know, the accounts of corrupt politicians’.

So I kind of understand that and get that.

But it’s all about interpretation isn’t it – and what the banks argue is that to maintain an account for a politically exposed person gives them increased costs of compliance.

Now I have spoken to the city minister in this country and there is some hope that this EU definition – which came into British law – may be moderated in some way, we’ll will have to see.

But, of course, any bank, any organization, can choose to interpret a ‘PEP’ and whether they want the account in any way they choose.

To my knowledge, I don’t think anybody has been treated like me in the world of politics.

But then the banks you see themselves are part of the big corporate structures in this country – these are the organizations who did not want Brexit to happen and I think in my case probably the corporate world will never ever forgive me because they know if I hadn’t done what I did with the help of thousands of people in our People’s Army that never would have been a referendum let alone a victory.

I’m the one that is to carry the blame.

So that’s the second possible reason why I can’t get a bank account – Prejudice that comes from our institutions.

But I think there’s a third reason.

A few months ago in the House of Commons Sir Chris Bryant, chairman of the Privileges committee, said using parliamentary privilege that I had received large sums of money directly from the Russian government, and he named the calendar year in which it had happened.

Truth is, I didn’t receive a penny from any source with even any link to Russia. And yet because he said it it stands.

I wrote to the speaker, I demanded an apology, nothing has been forthcoming from Sir Chris Brown.

Well I wonder whether that is what’s given me part of the problem.

I have employed a top firm of London lawyers. I’m going through a series of subject access requests to find out what is held on me by the international agencies and by the bank that wants to close me down.

But think about it – without a bank account you effectively become a non-person. You don’t actually exist. It’s like the worst regimes of the mid 20th century – be they in Russia or Germany – you literally become a non-person.

And you don’t anymore – you did in the past – but you don’t anymore actually have a right to be entitled to a bank account.

Now there is a possibility through a fintech company that I could find some means of receiving and paying money – which could be a little bit of a Lifeline. But it’s not a bank account because I won’t be able to earn any interest on positive cash balances, I won’t be able to borrow money if I need to at any point, or take out a mortgage should I so desire – that will be completely denied to me.

I won’t be able to have a debit card linked directly to my account. I won’t really be able to exist and function in a modern 21st century Britain.

So I will tell you more about this on GB news at seven o’clock tonight as to what my decision is but I’m beginning to think that perhaps life in the United Kingdom is now becoming completely unlivable because of the levels of prejudice against me. I’ll give you more of my thoughts at seven o’clock tonight on GB news.

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