Make Sure This Never Happens to You
Kanye West has spoken out about how his bank accounts were frozen. This happened to him without any notice. He claims that 4 accounts he has with JP Morgan were frozen by Adidas who put a $75m block on them.
He said in this video that he went from being a multi-billionaire to not even being able to use his Apple Pay.
Unfortunately this kind of situation is all too common. What’s more unusual is somebody with a huge public profile speaking out about it.
We encounter similar situations with our clients frequently. They didn’t realise how easy it is to have your bank account frozen. This is particularly true about accounts held in the country you live in.
In many countries it’s perfectly legal for tax authorities to withdraw money directly from your bank accounts with no notice.
Kanye said that his accounts were frozen by Adidas, clearly as a result of a commercial dispute. It’s common to see bank accounts and other assets being frozen during commercial litigation. This happens during all kinds of disputes. It can be disputes between business partners, divorce or liability claims from lawyers seeking to make a fast buck.
The point is you never know when it’s coming.
As Kanye said, “This could happen to you for saying the wrong idea out loud.”
Someone like Kanye likely has money elsewhere so it won’t affect his life for long. But if your money’s tied up in bank accounts and assets all in one country. And all under the same name. You face a catastrophic life changing event if this happens to you.
What happened to Kanye happens to hundreds of people every day. If you’re in business or have substantial assets the chance of something like this happening is high.
Diversification of political risk has never been more important.
