IB: "...terminate our relationship with you..."

[d08]

If money come from your personal bank account then your bank account is the source of funds, right? But they want to see how you got your money in a bank account? Will bank statement work in this case where incoming transfer is visible, for example if you get payments from Google Adsense or something like this. What documents are listed in the form?



When in liquidation mode, is it possible to convert currency (if you hold USD convert it to EUR or vice versa)? Because, for example, SEPA payment can be sent only in EUR, not USD.

I'm confused. You didn't get the request for information but still want to know? If you did, why not log in and take a look.

I'm not sure about currency conversion, typically it's considered a trade. They might not care about SEPA and expect you to make a regular wire.

 

[evogel]

It depends on your circumstances. I needed the LLC for compliance but there were also tax benefits. That all depends on where the LLC. Right now I trade as an individual.

I'm curious if anyone else got the AML (anti-money laundering) letter asking for source of funds and copies of documents...

I'm in the same boat. Source of Wealth and Proof of Identity requests. Also outside of US and trading as an individual. Problem is that I have deposited quite a small amount of money 10+ years ago and later just compounded it for many years so it's really not clear what can I send as "Source of Wealth". I have always pointed out in questionnaires that it's "trading profits" but is it sufficient this time ?
And I'm 100 percent sure that it's because of this 38M fine that IBKR have paid recently. They decided to get rid of any accounts that look suspicious now.

And by the way has someone had this situation with "liquidation only" mode for a prolonged period of time ? Like a year, for example ? I'm not that afraid to have liq only account in IBKR with all the positions that I have now while I'm looking for other broker. I'm more afraid of situation when I have to close everything fast and then waiting while other broker will take me on board cuz market can go up and I'll be sitting on the sidelines with cash.

Anyone ?

 

[Twinsen]

I'm confused. You didn't get the request for information but still want to know? If you did, why not log in and take a look.

I think everyone will receive sooner or later. They cannot send emails to all/most of their user base at once, because they will not be able to handle so many requests in 10 day time. So I guess they will send next batch of emails later. That's why it is interesting to know because it will concern everyone (or most) eventually.

And by the way has someone had this situation with "liquidation only" mode for a prolonged period of time ? Like a year, for example ?

It is better to ask support. Probably there can be a risk that if you do not wire out funds in time they will close the account and send funds by check to your profile home address. And it may be a problem to cash such check outside of USA.

 

[d08]

I'm in the same boat. Source of Wealth and Proof of Identity requests. Also outside of US and trading as an individual. Problem is that I have deposited quite a small amount of money 10+ years ago and later just compounded it for many years so it's really not clear what can I send as "Source of Wealth". I have always pointed out in questionnaires that it's "trading profits" but is it sufficient this time ?
And I'm 100 percent sure that it's because of this 38M fine that IBKR have paid recently. They decided to get rid of any accounts that look suspicious now.

And by the way has someone had this situation with "liquidation only" mode for a prolonged period of time ? Like a year, for example ? I'm not that afraid to have liq only account in IBKR with all the positions that I have now while I'm looking for other broker. I'm more afraid of situation when I have to close everything fast and then waiting while other broker will take me on board cuz market can go up and I'll be sitting on the sidelines with cash.

Anyone ?

The trading profits alone should be sufficient as the evidence is right in front of them. I foolishly added items in "source of funds" that were really "source of wealth", so that's an issue I have.

I've done the same as you, compounding from over a decade ago but I've switched accounts in between, so my source of funds would be the previous account and the dividends then on paid out from the LLC.

 

[d08]

I think everyone will receive sooner or later. They cannot send emails to all/most of their user base at once, because they will not be able to handle so many requests in 10 day time. So I guess they will send next batch of emails later. That's why it is interesting to know because it will concern everyone (or most) eventually.

Got it. The documents vary, so with an inheritance they want to see the paperwork, with employment the contract.
Quite a hassle for some, for myself I don't carry all my paperwork with me and some of it is half across the world and cannot be gotten in 10 days due to Corona.

For example for property sales they're asking:
"Sale Contract; or Letter from a solicitor or accountant confirming address of the property sold, date of sale, name of purchaser and amount received."

Adsense would probably fall in the "other" category and I'm not sure what proof they require.

 

[HobbyTrading]

Also received an anti-money laundering request for information...source of funds and proof of identity. Seems like it's related to the court case but you never know. Seems like whatever happened, happened to EU accounts.

I have received the same request this weekend. "Source of Wealth" and "Proof of Identity" requested. Their request on SoW is very vague and I don't know how to reply to this.

 

[d08]

I have received the same request this weekend. "Source of Wealth" and "Proof of Identity" requested. Their request on SoW is very vague and I don't know how to reply to this.

I had a chat with CS and they just said to fill up as much as possible. But if they're really going to require all documentation for all wealth, that's quite crazy. Much of the documentation has been lost for many, contracts from 20-30 years ago and so forth. The record is only digital.

 

[HobbyTrading]

I had a chat with CS and they just said to fill up as much as possible. But if they're really going to require all documentation for all wealth, that's quite crazy. Much of the documentation has been lost for many, contracts from 20-30 years ago and so forth. The record is only digital.

I see.
In these kind of cases, where compliance departments are involved, do I prefer written message exchange over verbal message exchange. Which is why I didn't bother contacting CS but send a written reply instead, asking them to clarify their request. And pointing them to an account review which they did in January 2020. At that time I already had an extensive message exchange with them. Them being IB they most likely have already forgotten that they did this work on my account.

 

[d08]

I see.
In these kind of cases, where compliance departments are involved, do I prefer written message exchange over verbal message exchange. Which is why I didn't bother contacting CS but send a written reply instead, asking them to clarify their request. And pointing them to an account review which they did in January 2020. At that time I already had an extensive message exchange with them. Them being IB they most likely have already forgotten that they did this work on my account.

On top of that, this is exactly the same information already requested under "Account settings > Financial Information" which I had filled out. It's also full of errors unfortunately, I pointed it out to them and I was told "it must be your browser". I find it unreal.

 

[evogel]

The trading profits alone should be sufficient as the evidence is right in front of them. I foolishly added items in "source of funds" that were really "source of wealth", so that's an issue I have.

I've done the same as you, compounding from over a decade ago but I've switched accounts in between, so my source of funds would be the previous account and the dividends then on paid out from the LLC.

Could you please clarify , what is the difference between "Source of funds" and "Source of wealth" ? It's not clear for me...