Thomasina lost €16,300 after taking advice from a crypto currency advisor

Thomasina transferred €16,300 from her Irish current account to a crypto currency account on the advice of a cryptocurrency adviser.

Once the funds were in the cryptocurrency account, the money was then transferred to a third-party. Thomasina informed the bank that she had been defrauded of the money transferred and she asked her bank to get the money back. It explained that it could not as it had no link with the third-party. It said it had legitimately transferred the funds at her request to the cryptocurrency account, but it had no access or control over the third-party account.

Thomasina complained to the FSPO regarding the bank’s conduct in failing to refund the money transferred.

Thomasina felt that the bank should have warned her not to transfer the money to the adviser, but the bank clarified that it had facilitated the transfer of the money, on her instruction, to the cryptocurrency account and it had no knowledge of the adviser at the time of transfer. It had transferred the money, at her request, to the cryptocurrency company. Thomasina closed her complaint.