The son-in-law of a deceased Russian oligarch is filing legal action against fintech company Revolut for “unlawfully” closing his account, the High Court in London heard on Wednesday.
Ildar Uzbekov, a British citizen born in Kazakhstan, is suing the company for breach of contract after it closed his account in April 2020 and allegedly cancelled £11,000 worth of payments without explanation.
He claims the closure appears to be the result of “factual errors by Revolut, a coordinated media campaign against him and Revolut’s approach to these issues,” Judge Chamberlain was told, according to a Press Association report.
The court heard that Uzbekov – the son-in-law of the late mining magnate Alexander Shchukin – managed to recoup the £11,000 and is not seeking damages.
Patrick Green KC, representing Usbekov, said in written submissions that his client was seeking “both a correction of the facts and a declaration of Revolut’s breach of contract in order to restore its reputation in this regard”.
Green accused Revolut of “blocking” Uzbekov by freezing his account and causing him “significant distress and inconvenience”.
Revolut had previously described Uzbekov’s allegations as “unfounded” and is seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed for abuse of process.
Tony Singla KC, representing the company, told the court that the action “appears to be motivated by the plaintiff’s previous experience of having his bank accounts closed in the UK”.
In written submissions, Singla said Uzbekov’s request was “completely different” from the definition of “debanking,” which refers to “situations where a customer’s freedom of speech, for example in expressing political views, has been restricted by the closure of retail banking accounts.”
Singla added that Revolut believes that keeping Usbekov’s account “could damage his reputation and goodwill” as financial investigators suspect he may have been involved in money laundering.
“Mr. Uzbekov claims he is concerned that the closure of his account is related to discriminatory attitudes towards people of Russian origin. This assumption is unfounded,” Singla said in court.
The hearing is expected to conclude today and a decision will be made at a later date.
Revolut declined to comment when asked City AM