Bitcoiner Allan Flynn has settled his first complaint with the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group over being unilaterally debanked in 2018 due to his occupation as a Digital Currency Exchange.
The settlement comes after the Canberra resident first filed complaints with the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal against ANZ. In the settlement, the ANZ noted that it closed his accounts due to the risk of money laundering and terrorism funding that it perceives among exchanges.
However ANZ denied any liability saying that if it had discriminated against Mr. Flynn by closing his accounts, that discrimination was reasonable in the circumstances and thus lawful.”
The statement by the ANZ also disclosed that it closed his account upon detecting DCE activity without contacting Flynn for further information about his activities. Flynn argues that such discrimination is unlawful per Canberra law.
Although this first battle is complete, he will take Westpac bank to the tribunal next Thursday over a second complaint. Westpac closed his bank account in 2019 citing the same concerns over him being a crypto trader.
Flynn believes the behaviour of ANZ and Westpac suggests the banks do not want competition and that if DCEs were allowed to function unimpeded, they would break the speed limit and surpass traditional banks.
