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ARTICLE · 02 FEBRUARY 2023

Does A Bank Have A Duty To Warn A Customer Before Carrying Out A Suspicious Transaction?

Gardiner Roberts LLP
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If a customer walks into a bank and asks a teller to carry out a certain transaction, does the bank owe the customer a duty to stop them? In what circumstances does a bank owe a customer any duty to...

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
James R.G. Cook
James R.G. Cook
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If a customer walks into a bank and asks a teller to carry out a certain transaction, does the bank owe the customer a duty to stop them? In what circumstances does a bank owe a customer any duty to warn them about certain types of suspicious transactions? Can a bank rely on a contractual limitation of liability clause to protect themselves when a customer asks them to carry out a suspicious transaction? The British Columbia Court of Appeal has referred all of these issues to trial following a successful appeal of a summary dismissal application: Zheng v. Bank of China (Canada) Vancouver Richmond Branch, 2023 BCCA 43 (CanLII).

The case arose from a telephone call allegedly received by the appellant customer in May 2018 from a person purporting to be with the Chinese consulate. The caller had the appellant's driver's license number and told her that international police were alleging that she was involved in an international money laundering case. She was

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