An investigation into widespread “debanking” finds that reforms enacted after 9/11, and subsequent compliance practices, have disproportionately excluded Muslim individuals and organisations from banking services, with severe social and humanitarian consequences.

The Financial Action Task Force’s post‑2001 framework and anti‑money‑laundering obligations pushed banks into an expanded policing role.

Statistics cited include a UK surge in account closures, from 45,091 in 2016 to 343,350 in 2022.

Mechanisms include automated adverse‑news screening and risk models that flag community‑targeted charities or shared Muslim names, producing false positives.

Critics note the system has not stopped terrorism financing: militant groups remain active across regions, while ordinary charitable activity is disrupted.

The result is a two‑tiered reality: high‑profile, well‑connected clients can reverse closures, as in the 2022 Coutts‑Nigel Farage case, while marginalised communities face opaque, essentially unappealable exclusions.

Reform advocates call for recalibrating regulatory incentives, strengthening appeals and accountability, and measures to restore financial inclusion while preserving legitimate safeguards against illicit finance