What is the difference between seizure and blocking of bank accounts?

If you ever try to access the money in your account and can't, you may find yourself in a garnishment or blocking situation. In this article we explain the differences.

Garnishing a bank account and blocking it are not the same thing. The two are different legal situations. Here are the differences between the two.

What is a garnishment of bank accounts?

Normally, a garnishment order can come from two sources.

1. Judicial authority:

In this case there has been a previous judicial procedure in which the condemned person had to pay an amount and has not done so. In this case, the seizure of assets can include the seizure of bank account balances. According to the order of seizure established in the regulations, the seizure of bank accounts is preferential to the seizure of other assets such as real estate (homes, parking spaces, etc.).

2. Administrative authority:

The Inland Revenue and Social Security can seize bank account balances, for example, for failure to pay taxes, for non-payment of fines or penalties, or for non-payment of self-employed persons' contributions.

In both procedures, the debtor must be notified in advance and the seizure must have respected the Minimum Interprofessional Wage, which cannot be seized.

What is a blocking of bank accounts?

In this case we are dealing with a preventive measure executed by the bank that can result in the account being blocked.

The most common reasons for this are if the bank suspects the existence of fraudulent activity on the basis of the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering, by court order as a precautionary measure in a judicial process or in cases where the bank account holder dies.

To unblock the account, it will be necessary to present the corresponding documentation or wait for the judge to lift the blocking measure.

In conclusion, both the seizure and the blocking limit your access to your bank account and you will have to find out from the bank what the reason for this is.