Upheld: failure to prevent fraud / inadequate fraud intervention complaint against Allied Irish Banks Plc
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-5881420 of 2026-04-15T00:00:00+00:00. failure to prevent fraud / inadequate fraud intervention complaint against Allied Irish Banks Plc. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-5881420 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-04-15T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Allied Irish Banks Plc |
| Product | Current account |
| Claim type | failure to prevent fraud / inadequate fraud intervention |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | AIB to refund 25% of £56,614.96 (£14,153.74) with simple interest at 8% per year from date of payments to date of settlement, less any tax lawfully deductible. |
Summary
Dr C lost over £60,000 to a cryptocurrency investment scam between February and July 2022, sending funds from his AIB account to another payment service provider (R) which were then transferred to a crypto-exchange. AIB identified a payment risk on 8 March 2022 when Dr C attempted a £10,000 transfer and was informed that R was classified as 'high risk' due to fraud, but failed to make further enquiries before allowing the payment. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding that proportionate questioning would likely have exposed the scam and prevented further losses. AIB was ordered to refund 25% of the preventable losses (£56,614.96) from the trigger point, with interest, reflecting Dr C's partial responsibility for not recognising obvious red flags.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
While Dr C authorised the payments under Payment Services Regulations 2017, AIB had a role in helping prevent fraud. By 8 March 2022, sufficient factors justified intervention: the £10,000 payment was significant, the third to same payee that day, and brought spending to high levels quickly. AIB identified the risk and was told R was 'high risk' due to fraud, but failed to make proportionate enquiries about payment purpose before allowing it to proceed. Had AIB made targeted enquiries, Dr C would likely have disclosed he was acting on advice from someone he hadn't met, moving funds to invest in cryptocurrency with no withdrawals made. Dr C bears some responsibility for his losses due to his own lack of caution regarding red flags, but AIB's failure to prevent further losses after identifying risk justifies 25% refund (matching R's contribution).
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Allied Irish Banks Plc, all decisions | 33 | 24% |
| Current account, all decisions | 45,590 | 19% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website