Former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said he has obtained documents that show his accounts with the private bank Coutts, a unit of taxpayer-backed bank NatWest Group (NWG.L), were being closed primarily for political reasons.
In a video posted on Twitter on Tuesday, Farage said he received a 40-page document from Coutts after filing a "subject access request" with the bank, to learn more about its rationale for proposing to shutter the accounts.
Reuters previously reported that Coutts was closing Farage's accounts mainly for commercial reasons, citing a source familiar with the matter.
The BBC previously reported Farage had fallen below the financial threshold required to be a customer of the private bank - something Farage said he had had no knowledge of.
Farage said "Brexit", "Russia" and "Donald Trump" were mentioned multiple times in the documents and that the bank said "the client's [Farage's] financial position is now sufficient to retain on a commercial basis".
Reuters has not independently seen nor verified the documents cited by Farage but a report published by Britain's Daily Telegraph said the documents showed Coutts had decided that Farage's views did "not align" with the bank's values.
A Coutts spokesperson told Reuters that its ability to respond to Farage's fresh claims were restricted by obligations to protect client confidentiality.
"Decisions to close accounts are not taken lightly and take into account a number of factors including commercial viability, reputational considerations, and legal and regulatory requirements," the spokesperson said.
"As the client has previously confirmed, alternative banking arrangements have been offered within the wider group."
Farage told Reuters the issue "raises very broad questions about our banks and how deeply political they have become."
"A lot of people in prominent political roles will be scratching their heads and thinking will I be next?," he said.
Farage previously said he believed it was because he was deemed a "politically exposed person" (PEP), meaning banks have to apply additional scrutiny to accounts.
The government has said it is looking into concerns that banks are blocking customers over their political views and has said it passed legislation to make PEP rules less onerous, but they have yet to come into force.
