London Assembly chairman debanked after Ukraine visit

Andrew Boff received a letter from his bank stating it had identified transactions in a sanctioned country - Belinda Jiao A senior Conservative has claimed he was debanked by HSBC-owned First Direct after a visit to Ukraine. Andrew Boff, the chairman of the London Assembly, said that after he spent £36 on coffees and lunch in Kyiv during a visit in May, he returned to Britain to find that his bank card no longer worked. He said that on July 8, he received a letter from First Direct informing him that the retail bank would close his accounts in 90 days, on Oct 6. The letter, seen by The Telegraph, said his bank card had been cancelled and his electronic banking had "ceased". It read: "We have identified transactions made in a sanctioned country. "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. "We're giving you 90 days written notice that we'll end your contracts with us. We'll close the accounts detailed above, along with any related services, on Oct 6 2026, unless you arrange to close them sooner." Ukraine is not considered a high-risk country for money laundering purposes according to the Financial Action Task Force, a G7-founded body which sets international anti-money-laundering standards. Unlike in other countries, there is no legal right to a bank account in the UK, and banks can choose to close accounts for commercial reasons, as well as if there is suspicious or sanctioned activity. Mr Boff 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." He added: "I am disappointed that First Direct has 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 Britons are caught this way." First Direct was launched as the UK's first telephone-only bank in 1989, set up as a division of HSBC. The Telegraph has previously heard from humanitarian workers, small business owners, charities and even churches who have had their accounts closed without explanation. Debanking hit record levels in 2024-25, according to figures from the Financial Conduct Authority. An estimated 453,230 accounts were shut down, data released to The Telegraph under Freedom of Information rules shows. Story Continues This was a more than tenfold increase on the 45,091 accounts closed in 2016-17, and an 11pc jump on the 408,000 accounts closed in the 2023-24 tax year. In all of the cases, lenders cited "financial crime reasons" for the decision to close accounts. Nigel Farage, who was debanked by private bank Coutts in 2023, said: "Nothing has changed, despite all the promises." Last week, Reform accused the National Crime Agency of leaking MPs' bank details to the media, including transactions which were flagged as suspicious. Earlier this year, the Government implemented stricter rules for debanking. Victims can now expect 90 days' notice of an account closure in most cases and better explanations. But banks can still refuse to explain their actions if they believe that doing so would help criminals launder money. HSBC on behalf of First Direct declined to comment. View Comments