Revolut Ltd. is facing a lawsuit in the United Kingdom, as a result of which this fintech brand can pay 700,000 euros ($735,880) to a Serbian energy company as part of a fraud claim.
Terna Energy Trading d.o.o, based in Belgrade, instructed its bank to send the mentioned amount to an account registered with Revolut. The energy company was convinced that the account belonged to its business partner. In the end, this financial transaction deprived Terna of money without any positive result for it. The company claims that the owner of the account to which the money was transferred is a 22-year-old fraudster from the Czech Republic. The relevant information is contained in the documents filed with the London Court.
Terna’s lawyers claim that initially, the payment system froze the transaction for the transfer of 700,000 euros, but then allowed it.
The funds were unfrozen as a result of the clearance of the various alerts triggered within the defendant’s systems.
Terna’s lawyers stated that Revolut operates a sizeable regulated financial services, but did not provide any immediate means of communication, using which the company could receive reports on suspected fraud.
Terna is seeking a repayment of 700,000 euros and interest.
Revolut denies all elements of the claim. The company insists that it received the money in good faith and that it is lawful for it to retain the 700,000 euros. The relevant statements are contained in the fillings of lawyers for the fintech brand. A Revolut spokesperson declined to comment.
In 2022, the fintech brand lost about $20 million after hackers managed to capitalize on a flaw in its payment processing system in the United States.
It is worth noting that recently the issue of cybersecurity has become more relevant, including in the context of fraud in the digital environment. Leveraging advanced technologies, in particular artificial intelligence, has made the activities of scammers more sophisticated. To counteract the corresponding threat, personal awareness of users is important, among other things. For example, a query in an Internet search engine, such as how to know if my camera is hacked, will allow anyone to get information about signs of unauthorized access to the device.
