Some leaked documents have come forward and have been published on a website called Tweakers from Rabobank — a Dutch bank. Therein, information suggesting the bank blocked customer transactions to Bitcoin exchanges for “ethical” purposes.
It’s a far story from what customers were told when their transactions just simply weren’t going through. Reportedly, some were told the reason for the incomplete transactions were “technical issues”.
What’s worse, the documents note that customers who engage in Bitcoin-related activities be labeled as “higher risk profile” status, according to CoinDesk. What that means is a bit of a mystery, but it has been suggested that customers given this label may have issues in obtaining loans from the bank, or may receive higher-than-average interest rates on loans. It’s unclear if Rabobank reports “higher risk profile” customers to law enforcement.
The bank denies these allegations, however, citing that these were, in fact, technical issues. A bank spokesperson has come forward to say that blocks are mostly geared toward businesses looking to start bitcoin exchanges as opposed to individuals.
The spokesperson went on the clarify that blocks weren’t binding, but rather advice from the bank’s Ethics Commission.
