Philip Adkins, former chief executive of Red Box Energy Services, is suing UK private bank Coutts over data protection breaches. Adkins claims the bank held a dossier of inaccurate information about him that triggered a US investigation and led to his daughter being detained. The inaccuracies included false claims about his net worth, property ownership, and financial ties to Goldman Sachs.
Nat West-owned Coutts is defending the claim, stating it had to comply with anti-money laundering and sanctions obligations. The bank noted that Adkins had supplied the information himself and requested to close his accounts. This lawsuit adds to scrutiny of Coutts' customer due diligence practices, following the 2023 closure of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage's accounts, which led to the departure of Peter Flavel and Dame Alison Rose.
Nat West paid an undisclosed sum to Farage to settle the dispute.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing