Upheld: CIFAS fraud marker lodgement - whether justified complaint against Revolut Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr A complained that Revolut had wrongly lodged a CIFAS fraud marker against him after closing his account. Revolut had evidence that Mr A's account was used to receive fraudulent payments from scam victims in May and June 2024, with funds spent on high-value items and withdrawn as cash. Mr A admitted giving his account access to someone he knew but claimed limited involvement thereafter. The ombudsman found that while the fraudulent activity was clearly established, Mr A's documented severe mental health issues during this period meant he would not have been capable of knowingly participating in fraud as required by CIFAS rules. The ombudsman upheld the complaint and instructed Revolut to remove the marker, but declined to award compensation.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While Revolut's evidence clearly demonstrated that Mr A's account was used for serious fraud, the ombudsman found that the medical evidence established Mr A had severe mental health issues during the relevant period that would have prevented him from discerning fraudulent activity or knowingly participating in fraud. The CIFAS marker rules require evidence that the account holder knowingly participated in fraud. Given Mr A's documented mental health condition and the timing of his hospitalisation, the ombudsman concluded he would not have been in a state to meet this threshold, despite inconsistencies in his testimony and evidence of his involvement in allowing account access.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website