Anti-scam hindered by account seizure limits, BML says
A civil court ruling had decided that the bank could seize a customer's account only through a court order.
By
Aishath Fareeha Abdulla
The biggest challenge in curbing scams conducted through the Bank of Maldives (BML) is that the bank does not have the power to seize accounts.
Replying to questions from members in the SOE Committee of the Parliament on curbing bank-based scams, the bank's Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs Aishath Samah said BML seized accounts to prevent scams when they first started.
“One of the challenges we face is that we currently do not have the power to seize accounts except under a court order,” Samah said.
She said that when a scam was reported, the account in which the money was deposited in the scam was withheld, but with a civil court ruling, it was decided that the bank could seize a customer's account only through a court order.
The bank has now appealed the case in the High Court and hopes to resolve the matter at the High Court stage, Samah said.
“Now, in a situation where we are reported of the scam funds, where there is money for the scam in the account, we have started withholding it to curb scams,” she explained.
Samah said there are cases where money is deposited into the accounts by mistake and in such cases the bank has no power to refund the money without the consent of the customer.
Replying to a member's question whether there is a criterion for considering money entering the account as scam money, BML said that based on the information provided by the customer, scams can be identified.
“In such a case, we try to contact the person who receives the money. If we are not able to contact the recipient, we hold the money temporarily. If we do reach the recipient and they clarify its money due them, we don't have the power to hold it further. From that point, with customer consent, the amount can be returned to the recipient”, said Moosa Nimal, Director of Retail, Business and SME Banking, BML.
He said in some cases the account is prevented from depositing more money, but the account is not closed so that money cannot be withdrawn.
The Bank also said on Wednesday that money is not lost from their customers' accounts dues to any negligence on the part of their employees.
