I have been a client at Exante for a number of years and have never incurred any problems withdrawing assets. All brokerages have protocols and external regulations to follow and yes I have had problems withdrawing from other brokerages that took time to resolve. Indeed, in one case after months of failing to withdraw my assets from a well known UK futures brokerage, I did have to contact the local regulator who then contacted the brokerage and the matter was resolved in two days. I suggest that you ask your Account Manager at Exante under which legal entity your account is registered and then contact the local regulator who should help to mitigate the problem and perhaps even offer to assist as an arbiter. Usually brokerages are requesting extra documents because of having to comply with local regulator or European Union rules so if they get the go-ahead to return your money directly from the local regulator, then they comply promptly. I do not believe that any brokerage wants to withhold assets from their clients as it damages their reputation for no gain. They can use or spend client money as it is held in segregated accounts. The main reason why brokerages withhold clients' funds is through fear of breaking regulations by not obtaining the correct records on file to show auditors. Since MiFID II, the rules within the EU have become much stricter so I expect a lot more people facing issues like this.