Consumer complaint received 2021-04-19
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: CO
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
XXXX : XXXX case # XXXX On XX/XX/2021 I initiated a transfer of funds ( {$41000.00} ) from my bank, XXXX XXXX, to my XXXX XXXX  CitiBank. I have made this wire transfer multiple times in the past and the supplier always receives my funds within 24 hours. 

Once the domestic wire transfer was thought to be complete, I began communication with the supplier to confirm they received the money. Within a day or two, the supplier had not received the money. XXXX XXXX advised myself, XXXX XXXX, XXXX of XXXX XXXX XXXX, that the domestic wire transfer was complete on their end. I began calling XXXX XXXX  on a daily basis. Eventually, XXXX XXXX gave me information that it was traced to a Citibank who is holding the funds for some unknown reason. I then started contacting Citibank. At one point, I was able to get through and speak with someone who stated they needed to verify my date of birth to complete the transfer, indicating Citibank was still in possession of the funds. The requested information was provided to XXXX XXXX and shortly thereafter, Citibank indicated the wire from XXXX XXXX  had been transferred. This was a fraudulent statement. I am able to track the payment on my portal, and could see that the payment was not placed into our portal account. After waiting a few days, I contacted Citi once again. After hours on hold and trying to speak to someone, I was advised by Citi bank they could not speak to me and had to speak directly to XXXX XXXX  The supplier provided me with a case number they received from Citi bank.I then contacted XXXX XXXX again, provided them the Citi Case number ( XXXX ) and requested they reach out to Citi Bank.. 
XXXX XXXX advised that they did call Citi and on XX/XX/XXXX, Citi advised XXXX the funds were released. The portal had not updated with this information, so XXXX XXXX reached out to XXXX and requested they follow up with Citi. On XX/XX/2021, Citi told XXXX XXXX that they were contacting the beneficiary of the funds to confirm where to send them and would let XXXX XXXX know when that was complete. Again, with daily checks on the status of this, Citi Bank never provided an update to XXXX XXXX  On XX/XX/2021, I requested for XXXX XXXX  to cancel the transaction and retrieve the {$41000.00} back to his account. I was advised that this could take up to two months. XXXX XXXX  has stated that they are asking for the funds to be returned on a daily basis, but have not yet received any of the money or even a response from Citibank. Citi Bank has acknowledged that they do have the money and have not sent it to the recipient nor will they return the money despite the daily requests from myself as well as the VP of XXXX XXXX 
I am asking my bank as well as the supplier on a daily basis if there is any update. No one can seem to get an answer from Citibank. Today marks 24 days that Citibank has held my funds without reason. It is our belief that they are acting in a fraudulent manner, holding the funds to help pay for fines and fees from their lawsuits and mistakes : see links below. Citi Bank is being fraudulent and malicious in their business practices. 
https : XXXX? XXXX https : XXXX XXXXXXXX https : XXXX https : XXXX

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation