Not upheld: Cifas marker registration for misuse of facility complaint against Monzo Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr B complained that Monzo improperly registered a Cifas marker against him for 'misuse of facility' after his account received funds later reported as fraudulent. Mr B claimed he was never given an opportunity to explain the transactions and that all funds came from legitimate sources. Monzo maintained it had contacted Mr B twice about his entitlement to the funds and that the Cifas marker was appropriately applied. The ombudsman found that Monzo had sufficient evidence that Mr B's account was used to receive and move fraudulent funds and that Mr B was aware the funds were or might be illegitimate, based on Monzo's documented contact attempts, the movement of funds to Mr B's own account, his delayed complaint, and his later admission of assisting in fund transfers. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Cifas standard requiring 'clear, relevant and rigorous' evidence and considered whether Monzo had demonstrated both that fraudulent funds were involved and that Mr B was aware the funds were or might be illegitimate. The ombudsman found that Monzo's attempts to contact Mr B (which appeared to have been received), the movement of funds to Mr B's own account (suggesting he was expecting them), his delayed complaint (only after the Cifas marker's impact), and his later admission of assisting in fund transfers collectively demonstrated sufficient evidence that Mr B knew the funds were or might be from an illegitimate source. The ombudsman noted that while Mr B claimed not to believe the funds were criminal in nature, the evidence suggested he was aware of the risks.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website