Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against ICICI Bank UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr V invested £20,000 in company N through his ICICI account in 2021, expecting 12% annual interest. Company N subsequently went into administration, and Mr V complained to ICICI in December 2022 alleging they failed to protect him from a scam. The ombudsman found insufficient evidence that N was operating a scam from inception, concluding it was more likely a failed investment. Even assuming N was fraudulent, the ombudsman determined that information uncovering concerns was not available at the time, N appeared legitimate and was stock market listed, and therefore ICICI could not have reasonably intervened. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied a two-part test: whether N was operating a scam and whether ICICI failed in a way that caused the loss. On the first point, the ombudsman found insufficient evidence that N intended fraud from the outset, concluding it was more likely an investment that failed. On the second point, even assuming N was a scam, the ombudsman found that information uncovering concerns was not available at the time of payment, N appeared legitimate and was stock market listed, and no reasonable level of scrutiny by ICICI could have prevented the payment.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website