Conotoxia Ltd. informs of the unlawful blocking of its bank accounts by mBank S.A., which not only prevented the Company from accessing its own funds but also prevented its customers from accessing their own funds. Accounts dedicated exclusively to financial operations with clients - so-called client funds - were blocked. Therefore, clients were not only unable to withdraw funds but also to make deposits into their accounts, which exposed them to uncontrolled management of their open positions on the market (the inability to deposit means the inability to increase margin, which can lead to automatic closure of transactions with a loss).
The mBank S.A.'s action also resulted in Conotoxia Ltd.'s inability to comply with its statutory obligation to withdraw funds within 24 hours and resulted in the need to provide services to the customers through foreign banks (generating gigantic commission costs).
We would like to emphasise that the sanctions imposed by mBank S.A. were neither addressed to the authorities of Conotoxia Ltd. nor supported by the relevant regulations, and they expose the Company to high reputational and operational risks. Conotoxia Ltd. is reporting the incident to the supervisory authorities under the MiFID II Directive, pointing to the unlawful prevention of brokerage activities but also the blocking of the return of funds to clients.
Responding to the actions described above, Conotoxia Ltd. intends to file a lawsuit against mBank S.A. demanding damages of 500 million PLN. In addition, appropriate notices will be filed with the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) and the Public Prosecutor's Office. In the eyes of Conotoxia Ltd., mBank S.A.'s actions are clearly directed to the detriment of both the Company and its customers, which requires the immediate intervention of law enforcement authorities and the regulator.