Bank Account Frozen? What to Do First, and How Long It Can Last (UK)

If a UK bank has frozen your account, two things matter today: stop moving money through it, and ask the bank who you should contact and what they need from you. Asking why may get you nowhere. Under section 333A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, a person commits an offence by disclosing certain matters where that is likely to prejudice an investigation, so the person on the phone may not be allowed to tell you.

How long it lasts depends on what sits behind the hold. Where the bank has made a disclosure and is waiting for consent before letting the money move, the Act runs a clock: a notice period of seven working days, then, if consent is refused, a 31-day moratorium, which a court can extend by up to 31 days at a time and by no more than 186 days in total. A bank's own checks have no statutory timetable that we could verify, and an account freezing order is a different court process. The timeline table sits under step 3.

This page uses UK rules and covers compliant self-protection only: stop, keep evidence, explain your source of funds, cooperate with the check. It never covers evading AML monitoring, moving funds out of reach or fighting a hold, and it is not legal advice. For the wider picture — why P2P sellers get frozen and how to avoid it next time — read bank account frozen after P2P crypto trading: why it happens and what to do; this is the version you work through on the day.

Step 1: stop, leave the money where it is

The alert says you can receive money but can't send it, or that the account is "restricted", and the urge is to get the balance out.

From the bank's side, the account has already been flagged and every movement on it will be looked at. Moving funds deliberately at this point can turn you from someone under review into someone moving the proceeds of an offence.

So this step is about not doing things: no transfers, no more P2P receiving or paying on this account, no following instructions from an unknown caller. The two questions that usually come next have their own pages: can you open another account after a freeze, and does a frozen account affect your credit score.

Note

If you get a call from someone claiming to be your bank or the police, asking you to "transfer funds to verify," "provide a code," or "download an app to assist the investigation," be highly suspicious — no genuine bank or police officer will ever ask you to move money to a so-called safe account. That script is itself a scam. Anyone asking you to move money, hand over a password, or share a verification code: do not comply.

Step 2: preserve evidence

While the records still exist, save these in full. Whoever you end up dealing with, they are how you show where the money came from:

Trade order screenshots: with order number, time, counterparty and amount — capture the whole thing, not just a corner.
Bank or payment statement: the recent movements on the account involved, exported where you can.
Chat records: all communication with the counterparty, especially the parts agreeing price and release.
Platform confirmations: the system records or notices of receipt and release.

Put them into one timeline and keep them somewhere safe. To check nothing is missing for your situation, the dispute evidence checklist builder lists the records to gather.

From the editors

Same freeze, very different afternoons. People who saved orders, statements and chats as they went can match counterparty, amount and time within minutes of the notice. People who start looking afterwards find expired screenshots, deleted threads and a counterparty account that no longer exists. Our read, after putting this list together: whether this step goes smoothly is mostly settled before the freeze — provided the money itself is lawful and its origin is clear.

Step 3: tell the hold type apart

Freezes roughly split into two kinds, and who you deal with differs completely:

Bank risk-control hold: a restriction the bank places under its own anti-money-laundering and account-safety rules; common wording is "payments out are blocked," "account limited," "please verify."
Legal hold: police, prosecutors or a court restricting the account in connection with a case; a named authority, case or reference usually appears, and lifting it goes through that body's procedure.

Look at whether the notice names an authority. If it does, it's most likely a legal hold; if it only uses bank wording like "restricted" or "verify," it's more likely the bank's own. The UK signals that separate a bank block from a court freezing order are set out in bank block vs account freezing order.

Signal in the notice	Likely type	Who to contact	Typical path to lift
Only bank wording — "payments out blocked," "limited," "please verify"	Bank risk-control / AML hold	Your bank (number on the card)	Verify identity, supply source-of-funds documents. If the bank is waiting for consent (timeline below), documents alone won't lift it before that process ends
Names police, prosecutors, a court, a case or reference	Legal / law-enforcement hold	The named authority	Official procedure; explain source, provide materials
Unclear which — no authority named, no clear reason	Work it out first	Call the bank and ask who you should deal with	Depends on the answer above

A qualitative guide, not a rule. Go by what your bank tells you and what any notice from the authorities says.

How long a UK hold can last

These periods come from sections 335 and 336A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and apply where the bank has made a disclosure and needs consent before it lets the money move. You may not be told which stage you are in — that is the section 333A point again.

Stage	How long	Counted from
Notice period	7 working days	The first working day after the bank makes its disclosure (s.335(5))
Moratorium, if consent is refused	31 days	The day the bank receives notice that consent is refused (s.335(6))
Court extension of the moratorium	Each extension ends no later than 31 days later; extensions can add no more than 186 days in total	The day after the period would otherwise have ended (s.336A(4), (7))
The bank's own checks	No statutory timetable we could verify	Ask what they need and when they expect to finish
Account freezing order	A separate court process, not covered by this table	See bank block vs account freezing order

Legislation text checked on legislation.gov.uk in November 2026. The 186 days is a cap on extensions on top of the 31-day moratorium, not a cap on the whole freeze.

Step 4: ask who to contact and what to send

Because staff may be barred from explaining, the useful questions are the ones they can answer:

If it's the bank: who should I deal with, what documents do you need from me, and how do I send them? Explain that the money is a receipt from ordinary buying and selling of digital assets, that you can provide orders and statements, and get any request for documents in writing. The full question list, and how to ask for your own records, is in what to ask your bank and how to get your records.
If it's a legal hold: use the contact details in the notice to reach the authority, and get clear which body it is, what is being checked, and what they need from you. If you are unsure the number is genuine, ring the authority on a number you looked up yourself. If the hold comes from a force in another part of the country, our guide to a freeze placed by an authority elsewhere covers what to do.

If the bank stops responding or you think it has handled things badly, complain to the bank in writing first. The Financial Ombudsman Service says a business has up to 8 weeks to consider most complaints; after its final response, you have 6 months from the date on that response to bring the complaint to the ombudsman. If 8 weeks pass without a final response, you can go to the ombudsman then; what to ask your bank covers the wording.

Safe practice

Before you make contact, get what you'll say into one clean line: I sell USDT peer-to-peer on [platform]; on [date] I sold [amount], the buyer paid me [amount], and here are the order number and the bank statement. Think it through before you call — it saves time and shows you're open and prepared.

Step 5: explain your source of funds, cooperate

Whether you're facing the bank or the authorities, the job is the same: explain truthfully where this money came from, and hand over the orders, statements and chats they ask for. Keep a copy of everything you send and a note of the date. Concealing, dodging or trying to "get around it" only makes you look more suspicious and drags the check out.

The red line: cooperating is about showing your funds are lawful so the check can close, not about making the hold ineffective. Ignore any advice on "fighting the investigation, deleting records, getting the money out" — this site will never provide it. If you suspect the payment came from a counterparty who was laundering money, say plainly that you were trading normally; the warning signs are covered in how to spot a P2P merchant paying with laundered money.

Step 6: consult a professional if needed

Not every situation needs a lawyer. An ordinary bank hold, a small amount, a purpose you can explain at verification — you can often handle it yourself. Consult a regulated solicitor where there is a legal hold, a larger amount, a complex money trail, or you are unsure how to word and submit your materials; what a solicitor can do about a frozen account covers what to expect. A regulated lawyer acts on your instructions and promises nothing about the outcome; an intermediary selling access is a different proposition entirely — see paid account-unfreezing services.

Note

If you need help, use a regulated solicitor you have found and checked yourself. Firmly avoid the "unfreezing specialists" in DMs, groups and search ads who promise "guaranteed release," "an inside contact," "pay a deposit first" — there's no paid channel and no inside channel to a release; those offers mostly target people who have already lost money, and can pull you into a fresh scam.

FAQ

What's the very first step when my account is frozen?

Stop using the account and don't move money out of it, then ask your bank who you should contact and what they need from you. Don't spend the call pushing for the reason: under section 333A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 the staff member may not be allowed to tell you. Keep your records while you wait.

How long can a UK bank keep my account frozen?

There is no single answer. If the bank is waiting for consent under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the statutory clock applies; the timeline table under step 3 sets out each stage and the cap on court extensions. A bank's own checks have no statutory timetable we could verify, and an account freezing order is a separate court process.

I didn't keep any screenshots — what now?

Gather whatever you can still find: past orders on the trading platform, statements in your banking app, and chats with the counterparty. Export what you can, screenshot the rest. An incomplete record still beats none, and from now on keep a copy of every trade as you go.

Sources (checked November 2026): Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, section 335 (notice and moratorium periods), section 336A (court extensions) and section 333A (tipping off), all on legislation.gov.uk; Financial Ombudsman Service, how to complain. This is an independent guide, not legal advice; your bank's written requests and any notice from the authorities come first.