Canadian 'Freedom Convoy': TD Bank freezes accounts with $1.1M for trucker protest
Attorney for the convoy says TD has been put 'on notice'
FOX Business' Jeff Flock talks to a Canadian truck driver who says the Freedom Convoy movement is more than just truckers.
Toronto-Dominion Bank froze two personal bank accounts, one of which included C$1.4 million ($1.1 million), to support "Freedom Convoy" protesters in Canada who are pushing back against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 procedures.
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In a statement to FOX Business the bank explained the move.
"TD has asked the court to accept the funds, which were raised through crowdfunding and deposited into personal accounts at TD, so they may be managed and distributed in accordance with the intentions of the donors, and/or to be returned to the donors who have requested refunds but whose entitlement to a refund cannot be determined by TD."
Vehicles of the protest convoy are seen parked on the Sir John A. Macdonald parkway leading in to downtown Ottawa on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP / AP Newsroom)
Reuters first reported that one bank account received C$1 million through GoFundMe and the rest was sent to a second account through a variety of bank transfers.
Toronto Dominion bank sign in clear sky. The bank is the second largest and important in the North American country. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)
In an email to Reuters, Keith Wilson, an attorney for the convoy, said TD has been put "on notice that their actions are improper and disappointing."
GoFundMe faced immense criticism earlier this month after the company decided to pause the fundraising page for the convoy after it surpassed $10 million.
Protesters of the Freedom convoy gather near the parliament hill as truckers continue to protest in Ottawa, Canada on February 7, 2022. (Kadri Mohamed/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The "Convoy" claimed that its initial protest of 1,600 trucks swelled to 36,000 over the first week, though the Washington Post places the number closer to 8,000.
The story has been updated to include comments from TD Bank.