Commonwealth Bank customer refused $15,000 withdrawal for refusing to say how he would spend it

A Commonwealth Bank customer claims they were stopped from withdrawing $15,000 because he refused to reveal how he would spend his money.

Richard Dargham wanted to take out the money from his account when he visited a branch at Carnes Hill Marketplace, south-west Sydney, on Thursday.

He uploaded a video to TikTok claiming his request was denied because he would not explain to bank tellers how he intended to spend his money.

‘This is bull****, this is absolutely ridiculous,’ he says in the video. ‘I’m the account holder. You can clearly see that. If I want to pay someone, you can’t stop me.

A Commonwealth Bank customer claims they were stopped from withdrawing $15,000 because he refused to reveal how he would spend his money

‘You don’t need to know the exact details of what the hell I’m using my money for. I could be using it for a strip club, I could be using it to buy drugs. It’s none of your freaking business.’

Mr Dargham said the bank had flagged his account as possibly being hacked by scammers because of the size of the withdrawal request.

He said he handed them several documents of identification to prove he was the holder of the account.

‘Keep in mind I gave them a Medicare card, I gave them a drivers licence, I have them a Medibank private card,’ Mr Dargham says.

‘I gave them all sorts of ID, like more ID than I need to get into a government building and become prime minister of this country.

‘Yet, they still wanted to know in exact detail what I wanted to do with my money,’ he said.

‘Their explanation was that they were trying to stop me from being scammed.’

Mr Dargham said he caused a ‘massive scene’ at the bank because he didn’t want to tell staff how he intended to spend his money.

‘There is a very strong possibility that if you don’t tell them, they won’t give you your money, he explained.

‘I said to them,  I have got to give money to someone, and I said I’ve got to pay an invoice.

‘They said: ‘Do you have an invoice?’ and then I lost my mind.

‘I don’t know what the hell this world’s come too – it’s getting to the point where it’s getting ridiculous.

‘They want to know in exact details what you’re doing with your money now. Giving them a one sentence answer does not work anymore,’ Mr Dargham explained.

Last year, one Commonwealth Bank teller said it’s standard practice for the bank to ask customers a reason for withdrawing large sums of cash. 

He uploaded a video to TikTok claiming his request was denied because he would not explain to bank tellers how he intended to spend his money (stock image)

‘It’s a duty of care to try protect you from fraud or scammers,’ they wrote on the OzBargain forum.

‘For example, an old man gets a phone call from Amazon saying they’ve accidentally transferred him $20,000. 

‘They instruct him to head down the bank and withdraw the funds to deposit into another account. 

‘The day dreaming teller doesn’t ask the man a reason for withdrawing the funds and hands him the money. 

‘Old man is now crying over the phone because he’s given away $20,000 to some scammers. Had the teller asked, which situation would you prefer?’

Meanwhile, banks are also required by federal law to report cash transactions of $10,000 or more to financial regulator Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre. 

Under the law, customers intending to make withdrawals above the threshold are required to provide identification.

‘You don’t need to know the exact details of what the hell I’m using my money for. I could be using it for a strip club, I could be using it to buy drugs. It’s none of your freaking business’, Mr Dargham said

Banks have been enforcing the threshold since 2011, with the legislation in place to reduce the risk of the Australian banking system being misused to support money laundering or terrorism financing activities.

‘You will be required to provide information for all transactions which involve a cash amount of $10,000 or more,’ a factsheet on the legislation states. 

A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that precautionary measures were enforced to protect customer’s bank accounts from possible scammers.

‘We are always very concerned when we are made of aware of frauds and scams affecting customers and the wider community,’ the spokesperson said.

‘Despite the commitment and best efforts of regulators, law enforcement agencies and the banking industry, such frauds and scams sadly still occur.

‘We review frauds and scams on a case-by-case basis however it is widely recognised that scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated which has prompted increased investment across the sector in resources, systems, data and intelligence to combat scams and alert the Australian public to the risks the community faces.

‘Customers need to remain vigilant, protect their banking details and be smart about who they send money to.’