Pareesa Afreen 
Sep 20, 2025
An undated image a building and UBL logo. — Canva
Several United Bank Limited (UBL) customers have expressed their frustrations regarding recent and unexplained account freezes and deductions despite their funds being legitimately obtained and held.
This matter first arose on social media when one customer shared his experience in a Facebook post indicating that just two days earlier, he had received Rs16,800 from his brother in the UAE.
Following that, he transferred Rs15,000 to someone else, leaving him with a balance of Rs2,280. Soon thereafter, his account was frozen. When his account was eventually unfrozen, the entire balance of Rs16,800 had been deducted, in addition to a negative balance.
“I visited the bank branch, and they told me this is a chain issue, your account would remain blocked until the sender’s account was cleared. My brother had Rs80,000 in his account,” the customer said.
Another customer mentioned his experience, arguing that UBL had blocked Rs3.4 million in his account after advising him to go to the FIA Cyber Crime Wing.
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) then advised him that the dispute had cleared for only Rs200,000 and that he could reconnect the account, leaving him with an unblocked amount of Rs3.4 million.
“Despite this, the bank has frozen my entire amount. My remaining balance is now showing negative, and it has been three months with no explanation from UBL,” the customer said in a post.
Notably, the account freezes usually occur when suspicious transactions are flagged, but withholding more money than the disputed amount raises questions of transparency and fairness.
