Barclays faces complaints about Leicester branch suspected of anti-Semitism
Barclays Bank was formally complained about attacking, accusing anti-Semitism after an employee of a client’s business team in his Leicester claimed that his account was unfairly frozen due to Israel’s residence.
Reporter Martin Blackham wrote directly in a letter to group CEO CS Venkatakrishnan, accusing the bank of discriminating against him based on his nationality and location.
Blackham said he was a member of the press under Ma, currently covering the Israeli war, claiming that his Barclays account was blocked from normal use after the system marked a request for more details that could not be updated online.
“As the details of the account show, my residence in Israel is clearly an anti-Semitism case managed by the Barclays business team,” Blackham wrote in the complaint.
He claimed that despite questions raised at Barclays three months ago (June 8), the bank failed to respond to his repeated letters. He described the situation as “shameful” and urged Venkatakrishnan to order a “thorough investigation” into the behavior of Leicester staff.
The letter further states: “Anti-Semitism has no place in the Barclay Lester workplace, and I hope not only to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter [but also] Ensure that the problem has been resolved. ”
Blackham believes the account freeze limits his chances of getting funds while reporting from Israel, an operational difficulty he described as non-professional and discriminatory. He also claimed that this was not the first time he had experienced similar problems at Barclays.
With more than 80,000 employees worldwide, Barclays has faced higher scrutiny in recent years in its compliance process in high-risk jurisdictions. Although the bank has not commented on Blackham’s specific claims, the bank has previously stated that it discriminates against any form of “zero tolerance” policy.
Anti-Semitism complaints in UK financial services are still relatively rare, but have criticized the opaque decisions of banks for closing or restricting accounts related to certain nationality, residence or politically exposed clients due to opaque decisions. In July 2023, Natwest was forced to apologize after Nigel Farage’s Coutts account closed, triggering a political and regulatory storm for “revocation”.
Blackham’s complaint adds a new dimension to the debate, raising questions about whether to risk falling into illegal discrimination.
A spokesman for the British Jewish Representative Committee said in contact with business affairs: “We are very concerned about hearing allegations of anti-Semitism in the banking industry. All financial institutions must ensure that they are stable, transparent, and have no discriminatory practices.”
Barclays are expected to be under pressure to react quickly. According to Blackham, the letter was Sunday, September 7, after a few months of silence in the bank, and was copied from business affairs.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) declined to comment on individual cases, but noted that its rules require companies to treat their customers fairly and act without discrimination.
According to the Community Security Trust, the complaint could offer a broader review of how banks balance their compliance with equal obligations, due to the highest recorded anti-Semitism level in the UK since 1984.
Whether Barclays sees the freezing as a procedural error, compliance measures or more serious internal failures can determine the consequences of reputation. Currently, Blackham says he is waiting for a reply to “return”.
