Revolut Ltd., one of the UK’s most prominent fintech companies, is grappling with a lawsuit that could result in a €700,000 ($735,880) payout to a Serbian energy company, Terna Energy Trading. The claim, stemming from an alleged fraud incident, has reignited concerns about digital payment platforms’ vulnerabilities to sophisticated scams.
The dispute centres on a transaction in which Terns Energy Trading instructed its bank to transfer €700,000 to what it believed was a business partner’s Revolut account, reports Bloomberg. Court filings allege that the account, instead, belonged to a 22-year-old Czech fraudster.
Initially, Revolut’s payment system flagged the transfer, temporarily freezing it. However, the transaction was subsequently leard without further intervention, and the fraudster reportedly dissipated the entire amount through multiple payments within hours.
At a London administrative court hearing on Friday, Terna’s lawyers criticised Revolut’s lack of a robust fraud-reporting mechanism.
“Despite operating a sizeable regulated financial services business, Revolut provided no immediate means of communication by which it could receive suspected fraud reports,” Terna’s lawyers said.
Terna is now seeking repayment of the full amount plus interest.
Revolut has denied the allegations and asked the court to rule that it was lawful for the company to retain the funds, claiming it acted in good faith when processing the payment. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment further on the ongoing litigation.
This isn’t the first fraud-related complaint against Revolut. The company has seen its fair share of scam lawsuits. Moreover, Revolut has faced criticism for its response to fraud victims. In 2023, the company reportedly began rejecting more reimbursement claims, sparking a surge in complaints to the FOS.
In 2022, cybercriminals exploited Revolut’s US payment processing system to steal $23 million, of which $3 million was recovered.
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