Quote from hayder:
Dear All
This is a message of warning to other posters from the Middle East (and possibly other regions) regarding the account opening procedures and attitude by IB.
I'm a British citizen of Iraqi origin (left in 1981).
I live in Dubai and tried opening an account with IB (due to the commissions and variety of securities on offer).
I sent them all the required documentation including:
My british passport
UAE driving licence
My Bank details
Apartment lease agreement.
They came back and asked me the following questions (which I answered):
In reviewing your account application and documents we have noticed that the place of birth on your passport indicates Baghdad. Due to this, there are some additional questions we will need before we can continue processing your account application.
Please review and provide responses to the below questions:
1) Do you currently hold a passport from Iraq?
NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. I APPLIED WITH MY BRITISH PASSPORT.
2) Do you hold Iraq citizenship?
NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. YOU KNOW IâM A BRITISH CITIZEN. YOU NEED TO KNOW WHERE MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER WAS BORN TOO???
3) Do you have business dealings in Iraq?
NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS
4) Do you hold any financial accounts in Iraq?
NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS
5) Do you have plans ever to back/settle in Iraq?
IF AND WHEN I PLAN TO MOVE ANYWHERE I WILL INFORM MY BROKER AND BANK IN GOOD TIME. IâM LIVING IN DUBAI NOW. YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO ASK ME WHAT MY LIFE PLANS ARE AND WHAT UNDERWEAR I PLAN TO WEAR TOMORROW.
Please review and provide responses to these questions and we will review and finish processing your account application for final review and approval. .
Regards,
Michael
New Accounts Department
Interactive Brokers, LLC-US