How a Dog Named ‘Iran’ Caused a Woman’s Bank Account to Be Frozen

A Finnish woman named Mrs Minnie Mont was shocked to find out that her bank account had been frozen for a week without any prior notification from the bank.

The reason behind this drastic measure was her dog’s name: Iran.

A Suspicious Note

According to Finnish media which reported the story on May 25, 2023, Mrs Mont had received a bank transfer of 600 euros from her friend who had taken care of her dog Iran while she was away. The friend had attached a note to the transfer stating “Iran Insurance.” This was meant to be a payment for the dog’s medical expenses after she had been taken to a veterinary clinic.

However, this innocent transaction triggered an automatic response from the bank, which suspected that it might be related to the sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States and other countries. The bank froze Mrs Mont’s account without informing her and reported the case to the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA).

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A Confusing Situation

Mrs Mont only realized that her account had been frozen when she tried to pay for her groceries with her debit card and it was declined. She contacted the bank and was told that she had to provide proof of the origin of the money and the purpose of the transfer. She explained that it was for her dog’s insurance and sent a copy of the veterinary bill and a photo of her dog.

The bank then unfroze her account after a week of investigation and apologized for the inconvenience. Mrs Mont said that she understood that the bank had to follow the regulations, but she wished that they had notified her before freezing her account. She also said that she had no idea that her dog’s name could cause such trouble.

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A Lesson Learned

Mrs Mont said that she named her dog Iran because she liked the sound of it and because it was an uncommon name for a dog. She said that she had adopted Iran from a shelter when she was a puppy and that she was very attached to her. She said that she did not intend to change her dog’s name, but she would be more careful when making bank transfers in the future.

She also advised other pet owners to avoid naming their pets after countries or entities that are subject to sanctions, as it could lead to unwanted complications.