Why Is My Bank Account Frozen by Police? What to do next?
Ramesh, the owner of a small vegetable shop near our house, said, “Sir, the police have frozen my bank account, please give me the cash,” when I went to pay through UPI. On inquiry, it was found that the police had frozen Ramesh’s bank account, in the name of some cyber scam. Such cases are increasing a lot now a days. The esteemed courts have given directions in many such cases that the entire account cannot be frozen, only the relevant amount should be frozen and the victim should be given a clear reason for the freezing and an opportunity to express his stand or defense against it. Indiscriminate freezing of bank accounts has several serious consequences such as financial ruin of small businesses, disruption of operations of corporate houses, loss of trust in the banking system, violation of due process and fundamental rights.
Here, looking at it from another perspective, most of the money seized in cyber crimes comes from debit freezes imposed on the bank accounts of cyber criminals. So, as soon as someone files a complaint about losing money to cybercrime, the cyber police immediately imposes a debit freeze on the transferred account, and the accounts to which the money was transferred from that account, and the accounts to which the money was transferred from there, and so on. This allows the officials to use the remaining money from that account and the money that is coming into that account to return it to the victim of cybercrime.
What are the reasons for freezing your bank account :-
- Unauthorized transactions, Identity theft or other types of financial fraud.
- Court or government agency or law enforcement agency orders
- Money laundering or financing of terrorism.
- Failure to comply with account maintenance requirements such as KYC updates or negative balances.
- For unusual account activity such as large or unusual transactions, sudden increase in account activity or unexpected changes in spending patterns.
- For recovery of unpaid government taxes.
- If there is no transaction in your bank account for a long time
- Sometimes, money is transferred to your account by mistake. If this money is linked to illegal activities, your account will be frozen.
To remove the freeze on your bank account, you need to :-
- First of all, if the police freeze your account due to any cyber crime complaint and you have not done anything wrong, there is no need to panic.
- Contact your bank and find out the real reason for the account freeze, so that you can get a solution.
- If it is due to KYC update or any suspicious transaction, remove the freeze by providing the appropriate document proofs.
- If the reason for the freeze is due to long-term inactivity, deposit some money and remove the freeze on your account.
- If the bank account is frozen as per the directions of the police or court or any government agency, contact a lawyer and as per their advice, resolve the issue legally with the appropriate document proofs and remove the bank account freeze.
- If the freeze is related to a government investigation or law enforcement inquiry, cooperate fully with the authorities and expedite the resolution of the issue and provide them with any information or documentation they request. Continue to consult your lawyer regularly and act on their advice only.
- Depending on your situation and legal advice, you may file a petition or representation with the appropriate court or authority to challenge the account freeze and seek relief and request the freeze on your bank account to be lifted.
To prevent your bank account from being frozen, you should :-
- Regularly review your account statements and transaction history for any unusual or unauthorized activity.
- Keep your contact information, phone number, and email address information up to date with your bank so that they can contact you promptly when needed.
- Respond promptly to any notices or requests from your bank.
- Avoid using your primary account for Bitcoin P2P trading, casual transactions, or linking it to your UPI.
- Avoid large transactions on unverified platforms
- Protect your account information and passwords and be careful when sharing bank information online or over the phone.
- Ensure that transactions are carried out in your account regularly.
What does Indian law say about bank account freezing :-
Under Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Samhita (BNSS), bank accounts are considered “assets”, which allow authorities to freeze them during investigations. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Samhita (BNSS), under Section 318(4)[3], deals with fraudulent financial activities and this provision provides a framework for freezing accounts involved in such fraudulent activities to ensure that those responsible do not further misuse the financial system while investigations are underway. Money laundering bank accounts can be frozen under Section 17(1)(iv) of the Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). Under Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) which deals with hacking, phishing and Identity theft allows police to freeze bank account of the fraudsters or the accounts to which the fraud money is transferred to for further investigation and prevention of that money being en cashed or transferred out. you can read more about Indian cyber laws in my previous article.
Very nicely explained, clearing many doubts and understanding procedures for hold/freezing account/amount.
Thank you for the wonderful write up
Dear sir
My account is in Punjab National Bank which is frozen since February. I have visited the bank several times but the problem has not been resolved yet and I have called the server crime.
where he eats Address District Chhindwara Tehsil Parasia Punjab National Bank
did not understand the second sentence of yours, Why is your bank account frozen? What is bank saying? ask them to give you the details of the police officer who asked for freezing your account and contact them directly
Hlo sir
Mera account cyber crime ne band kar diya hai mujhe nhi pta hai Kyo kiya h please account open karva de.
Mera account pnb branch me h jo harayana ki dist panipat me h
Main Mysore, Karnataka mein rehtha hoon. wahan kha koi lawer ko contact keejiye.
Mera account Central Bank off India mein hai isko police ne sij kar diya hai batao main kya Karun Mera account nahin khul raha hai paisa bhi Paisa hua hai
Aap aapke shehar mein hi kisi lawyer ke pass jaaiye aur jo police ne freeze kia hai unse NOC(No Objection Certificate) lena padega, wo lawyer karega.
Hello Sir, Mera bank account freeze hai or maine bank se details bhi le li hai ki reason kya hai freeze ka, lekin police is not cooperating because the complaine is from a different state and I am the layer 2 guy, so can you advice me what should I do. As I have visited my local cyber crime station in Delhi and the complain is from Andra Pradesh and I tried reaching them by call and email both but not response. So can you advice under which sec and where I can go to file a complain in court so that I can unfreeze my account.
Unfortunately aapko andra police ya jisne bhi freeze daala hai unhise baat karna padega aur aapka innocence prove karke NOC lene ke baad hi aapka account unfreeze ho saktha hai
Account freez kar diya gya hai utkaesh bank ke dwara koi siber paisa aya hai 365 Rupesh lakin mera Account me 1lakh 5 thousand hai isme kya kre ki paisa nikal jaye Kripa kare
where are you from? contact the local lawyer
Dear Sir/Madam,
mera khata union bank, gujranwala town delhi mai hai. or october 2024 say band hai, mene kise say advace 4500 rs lia tha kiray k lia, usaney meri dukan kiray par bhi nahi li or 4500 rs mai say 2000 vapis ley chuka. or uskey chakkar mey mera account freeze ho gya tha. bhaut kuch karrvai karney k bad bhi koi sarkari ya private adhikari koi jwab nahi dey.r rahey hai,
Kya muje koi sarkari shayta mil sakti hai?
Jo mera yeh kam free karva sakey?
Mene 1 vakil kiya tha vo 2000 rs ley chuka hai or bhi rupya mang rha hai jisko mai dene mai mai asmarth hu kyapa mere madad kare .
Thank you
sir i was doing freelancing through an unregistered company. now company run away. and some one complaint against the company. beacuse some transactions done by my account so accountg has been freezed. i did not do any fraud. and ready to return money what i make. it was unfortunately i did not check background of company. plese help me what should i do ?
Sir, Its very unfortunate this happened to you. What kind of complaint has been filed? criminal or civil? You may want to contact a good lawyer near your place as they can guide you better.
A lots of fraud happening by cyber crime reporting portal itself. It another tool or method for increase in corruption facilitated by govt.
It’s an harassment tool by which common people are being trapped by freezing or marking lien in account followed by no visible action by cyber department. They don’t even reply to email or phone call. People may be victim of cyber crime but it is mostly NCRP victimize people through thise so called cyber crime. Common people are suffering as anytime your bank account can be frozen or marked lien. Then you know how things go in the name of unfreezing or unblocking the account. A big fraud is happening but no one is accountable
unfortunately, I have to agree with you here.. I have personally seen police asking for bribe to issue NOC even when things are clear.
My account freezed on 11th of july 2025 when i visited the bank they told me that amount of ₹1934/- received in my account on 8th of may 2025 through imps from Solfi Foundation which am not aware of they told me to go cyber cell and register the complaint i went there the gave me acknowledgement no.31107250125890 and police station phone no. With email i wrote mail to them no reply from them till now when i talk to the police officer he told me that its not from them gujarat cyber cell is investigating this and contact to them again i went to cyber cell they told me that they can forward my mail to them and gave me the no. of nodal officer when i call there it was always busy no one replied my mails and calls bank staff clearly said that its not in there hands am a salesman and its my salary account i request in my every mail that hold that suspicious amount of ₹1934/- and send me the NOC so that i pay my emis on time my all emi’s are delayed and the collectors are harrasing me everyday no one understands my pain is this the law? to harras people who are not a criminal total harrasment i am facing everyday and no one is listening what to do now ?
I understand your pain but currently the system works that way unfortunately. You have to get NOC from the police who is investigating. cannot help you here..