Nigel Farage has suggested he may be forced to leave the UK after his bank accounts were closed.
The former UKIP leader said the unnamed bank, which he has been with since 1980, told him it was a commercial decision.
Mr Farage tweeted this amounted to “serious political persecution”, suggesting the decision was made due to his involvement in the 2016 European Union vote.
The establishment are trying to force me out of the UK by closing my bank accounts.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) June 29, 2023
I have been given no explanation or recourse as to why this is happening to me.
This is serious political persecution at the very highest level of our system.
If they can do it to me, they… pic.twitter.com/O4xQ1h79ub
He said he has since been to seven other banks to ask for a personal and business account, but that he has not been granted one.
He said in a video: “I emailed the chairman, a lackey phoned to say it was a commercial decision, which I don’t believe for a moment.
“I’ve been to seven banks, asked them all ‘could I have a personal and a business account?’, and the answer has been no in every single case.
“There is nothing irregular or unusual about what I do.
“I’m beginning to think perhaps life in the United Kingdom is now becoming completely unlivable because of the prejudice against me.”
Mr Farage - a prominent pro-Leave campaigner - said he thinks that he has been designated as a politically exposed person (PEP), a banking requirement that came into force when the UK was part of the EU.
“A [PEP] could range from anybody from a PM to a local councillor. I think the reason for it was where people in politics are open to bribery.
“Could foreign governments from Ukraine or China or wherever else it may be, could they be pumping money into the accounts of corrupt politicians?
“So I kind of understand that and get that, but it’s all about interpretation, isn’t it?
“And what the banks argue is that to maintain an account for the exposed person gives them increased costs of compliance.”
According to the Financial Conduct’s Authority (FCA) guidance, the designation is necessary for firms to meet their financial crime obligations.
Mr Farage suggested the issue may have stemmed from privileged comments Sir Chris Bryant made in the House of Commons alleging he had received large sums of money directly from the Russian government, a claim the staunch Brexiteer denies.
