Depositors claim bank closed accounts because of their links to Mideast

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/business/industries/10445895.htm


RIDGELAND, Miss. - After three years as an AmSouth Bank customer, Imad Aleithawe got a one-page form letter telling him his account had been closed.

At least three other Mississippi residents with Middle Eastern backgrounds -- including a university instructor and business owners -- have also had their accounts closed. Those affected say others with Middle Eastern ties have complained to them about closed accounts, but were unwilling to go public.

But American Civil Liberties Union officials say the cases are hardly isolated. Nationally, the organization has received more than 1,000 discrimination complaints from people of Middle Eastern descent since the Sept. 11 attacks -- and dozens of those complaints involved financial institutions.

Hashad said part of the problem is confusion over the flood of banking regulations that have been put into place as part of the federal Patriot Act. In some cases, she said, people have completed the paperwork for a transaction and then been told by a bank that their money is being held in limbo "because we're not sure if you're a terrorist or not."