American broker (Interactive Brokers) freezes accounts. Reasons, requirements. Investor misconduct.
Russian investors complain about the American broker Interactive Brokers, which allegedly deprived them of access to accounts (and money) due to a short stay in Crimea. In the context of numerous sanctions and the ambiguous status of the peninsula in the international arena, the relationship between Russian investors and American brokers is not clear and the first one should be especially vigilant despite the attractiveness of foreign assets.
The American broker Interactive Brokers is popular in Russia, although now it works only with private clients, the exact number of which is unknown. Russian investors choose it not only because of its attractive conditions, but also because of its relatively loyal attitude. Interactive Brokers, among the few, continued to work with Russian depositors, but only private ones, although it initially cooperated with Russian banks, and continued to work with them even after the imposition of sanctions.
However, everything changed in the spring of 2021, when the broker was forced to pay a fine of $38 million due to insufficient anti-money laundering. Interactive Brokers broke off relations with the Russian business immediately, but an indulgence was made for private clients. It should be borne in mind that the broker checks his clients very carefully, even a minor violation of traffic rules in America is enough to refuse to conclude an agreement. Those living in Crimea will also not be able to open an account, they must come to the mainland. And Interactive Brokers is not alone in its demands, other brokers offer even tougher conditions.
It is not enough to open an account, you also need to use it carefully. Recently, one of the broker’s current clients, while on vacation in the Crimea, logged into his account in order to check the balance, after which a few days later he received a message about the blocking of the account. Access to six-figure attachments has become closed. From the correspondence with the broker, however, it does not directly follow that the blocking followed after a visit to Crimea. However, such a development of the situation is not excluded. Perhaps there were other violations on the part of the investor. The difficulty lies in the fact that there is no real leverage on the broker, it is difficult to even get an answer. And in order to return the invested funds, you will most likely have to go to an American court. At the same time, a positive result is far from guaranteed.
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