Bitfinex Sues Wells Fargo Over Wires
A federal lawsuit has been filed in California by iFinex, the parent company of bitcoin exchange Bitfinex, against Wells Fargo & Company and Wells Fargo Bank. The suit claims damages because the bank suspended its outgoing U.S. dollars wire transfers.
Court documents filed by the company, along with Hong Kong-based conversion service Tether.to in San Francisco, claimed Wells Fargo prevented wire transfers from a number of Taiwanese banks relative to accounts containing their customer funds. This action on the part of Wells Fargo to block outgoing US dollar transfers was made without notifying the two digital currency companies, the suit claims.
“Wells Fargo has suspended U.S. dollar wire transfer operations needed to remit to plaintiffs’ customers US dollars that the customers deposited with plaintiffs to purchase digital currency, causing imminent and irreparable harm to plaintiffs,” the complaint reads.
The plaintiffs ultimately seek a preliminary and permanent injunction against Wells Fargo, preventing it from suspending, rejecting, or refusing to process wire transfers in US dollars from plaintiffs correspondent accounts without notice and without the opportunity for plaintiffs to address any possible due diligence concerns.
The plaintiffs are also requesting the court to enter a judgment against Wells Fargo in excess of $75,000 in their favor “for the damages sustained as a result of the wrongful conduct alleged and as will be established through discovery and/or at trial, together with interest thereon.” In addition to a jury trial, they are also seeking any further relief the court may deem “just and proper.”
A Bitfinex spokesman said the company is taking the bank to court in order to establish a precedent where banks can’t shut down bitcoin businesses without notice.
“The decision to initiate legal action is because we cannot allow precedence in this industry where clearing houses can disrupt businesses that are, by all metrics, complying with the rules in place. If we allow them to simply flip a switch and disrupt business, then there becomes a precedence in the bitcoin industry beyond just Bitfinex, so we believe it is the appropriate time to take action to prevent precedence,” the spokesman said.
Wells Fargo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
