October 1, 2014

Banking institutions across the nation, including Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, and many other national and local financial organizations, are placing undue burdens on American Muslims by closing their bank accounts without explanation. Since the beginning of the year, CAIR California (CAIR-CA) has received a number of calls from American Muslims receiving warnings from their banks saying they have a short window of time to remove all their money from their accounts before they are closed indefinitely. When community members have inquired as to why their accounts are being closed or to find an avenue to appeal the decision, they have been met with local branch managers who are just as confused as they are and corporate call centers that refuse to provide explanations.
SEE: Bank Clients of Middle Eastern Descent Want Answers on Closed Accounts
Responding to inquiries from CAIR-CA about these bank account closures, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the federal bureau tasked with supervising all national banks, states that the Bank Secrecy Act (“the Act”) allows banks to work with federal agencies and close bank accounts based on completely legal banking activity–e.g., transferring money between accounts or sending money to family overseas–if the bank or the federal agency feels the activity might in some way be linked to some possibility of illegal activity such as money laundering. The Act provides that these investigations and their findings remain entirely confidential, thus innocent community members falling victim to overaggressive enforcement of the Act are left with no bank account, no explanation, and no avenue to cure the sudden closure of their account. Even more troubling is that once community members have their bank accounts closed, other banking institutions are much less willing to provide them with a new account.
CAIR-CA attorneys and civil rights advocates are deeply troubled by these banking practices subjecting community members to serious long-term ramifications and the complete lack of transparency surrounding them. In response, CAIR-CA has begun informing federal legislators of the situation. It is incumbent on law makers to amend federal law to provide more transparency into the decision-making process behind bank account closures, and to provide community members avenues to cure such decisions so they may fight back against unjust decision-making. These steps are necessary to ensure American Muslims are not discriminated against by banks and targeted for bank closure based on Islamophobic stereotypes.
See: Bank Closure Letter
If you, or someone you know, has had their bank account closed suddenly and with no explanation, please call CAIR’s San Francisco Bay Area office at 408.986.9874.