Consumer complaint received 2024-01-05
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — International money transfer
Issue: Money was not available when promised — 
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. ()

RE : CFPB Complain ID : XXXX Citi Reference Number : XXXX After receiving the response from Citibank dated XX/XX/XXXX stating that it is impossible to locate the monetary resources blocked, we are submitting a repeated complaint attaching the documents requested by Citibank. 

We are asking Citibank to review the documents attached and base the investigation using the data provided, not the materials filed by the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. The following documents contain all information concerning the attempted transfer of monetary resources : ( XXXX ) initial payment order, ( 2 ) SWIFT-messages from Citibank stating that monetary resources were frozen by OFAC representative XXXX etc. 

If it in some way helps the investigation, we are describing the whole situation below. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX initiated a transaction with XXXX " XXXX XXXX XXXX authorizing the transfer of XXXX RUB ( XXXX XXXX XXXX  rubles ) from his bank account ( No. XXXX ) to the bank account of XXXX XXXX XXXX at Citibank XXXX. XXXX. Under Payment Order XXXX. XXXX, dated XX/XX/XXXX, the specified funds were seamlessly transferred from the paying bank ( XXXX " XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) to the corresponding bank ( XXXX XXXX XXXX Citibank '' XXXX, XXXX ), where they were credited to the bank account No. XXXX. Confirmation from XXXX XXXX " Citibank '' XXXX arrived promptly on the same day, verifying the successful crediting of the funds to the bank account owned by Citibank XXXX. XXXX in XXXX XXXX " Citibank '' XXXX. But funds did not go any further. 

Following the transfer, XXXX " XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Citibank '' XXXX, and XXXX XXXX made multiple inquiries regarding the subsequent movement of funds or potential return options. Subsequently, XXXX XXXX learned that during the attempt to transfer specified funds to Citibank XXXX. XXXX via XXXX the specified funds had been frozen by an order from the Office of Foreign Assets Control ( OFAC ) , and no actions could be taken unless a special license was issued by OFAC.

We applied for such license and waited for a long time having the case pending. However, after a long while, we received a letter from OFAC stating that case status has been changed on " Returned Without Action ''. We contacted OFAC and Learned that Citibank XXXX. XXXX failed to provide OFAC with the Blocking Report describing our transfer. After that, we've addressed this issue to Citibank XXXX. XXXX again and on XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX XXXX received an unexpected letter from Citibank XXXX. XXXX stating, " With the information you provided, we are unable to locate any wire transfer under OFAC review. '' This revelation intensified the situation, suggesting that there was no legal basis for freezing XXXX XXXX 's funds in the first place. But despite the fact Citibank XXXX. XXXX stated in the letter, we've never received any information about the current status of the attempted XXXX, beneficiary ( XXXX XXXX XXXX ) has never received the money nor the money ever returned to XXXX XXXX 's bank account. 

In an attempt to unravel the complexities of the situation, XXXX XXXX turned to the XXXX XXXX XXXX in early XXXX. Officers from the OFAC XXXX XXXX investigated the status of XXXX XXXX 's application and repeatedly confirmed that Citibank XXXX. XXXX had frozen the disputed transaction without reporting it to OFAC. The failure to submit a Blocking Report prevented OFAC from locating the transaction, thereby hindering the issuance of a special license.

We hereby respectfully ask you to help resolving the sutiation and return the monetary resources to XXXX XXXX by at lease filing the Blocking Report with OFAC.