Nigel Farage claims ‘serious political persecution’ after bank account closures

Nigel Farage fears he may have to leave Britain after his bank closed his accounts and seven others refused his custom.

The former UKIP leader and prominent Brexit campaigner said “he had been given no explanation for the decision to close both his personal and business accounts”, reported The Times.

Farage did not name the bank but claimed the move amounted to “serious political persecution”. In a video posted on social media he said: “The establishment are trying to force me out of the UK by closing my bank accounts.”

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The Sunday Times reported in 2019 that “man of the people” Farage banks with Coutts, a private bank founded in 1692 whose clients “include members of the royal family”.

Coutts is now owned by NatWest, which has “previously received complaints for closing accounts without reason”, said The Times. The art gallery account of socialite Tamara Beckwith was closed earlier this year.

Farage has given several unconfirmed theories for the account closures. First, he claims he has been designated a “politically exposed person”, or PEP, by the bank. PEP is a financial term given to “someone who holds a prominent public function” and who therefore can “present a higher risk for potential involvement in bribery and corruption by virtue of their public position”, explained the i news site.

His second theory relates to claims made in the House of Commons last year, alleging that he had received around £550,000 from the Russian state for his appearances on the Russia Today (RT) TV network. Farage has denied the claim, made by Labour MP Chris Bryant, and has asked for an apology.

He also claimed to The Telegraph he may have been the victim of “blatant corporate prejudice” because of his Brexit campaigning. Speaking to the paper, Farage said he may now have to “leave the country” after his bank accounts had been closed and his custom had been declined at several other UK banks.

“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,” he said.