Legal Action: WikiLeaks Lawyers Reignite Fight Against Bad Banking

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, March 28, 2025
WikiLeaks Lawyers Reignite The Fight Against Bad Banking
Support a David vs Goliath struggle for justice against a powerful banking institution - at BadBanki.com

Talk Liberation, the privacy-focused software development house behind social media start-up Panquake is suing Icelandic bank Islandsbanki in court. Represented by WikiLeaks' Icelandic lawyers, Talk Liberation is seeking compensation for damage caused to its operations by Islandsbanki unjustly withholding their seed funding and terminating their banking services.

In September of 2022, major Icelandic bank Islandsbanki (playfully referred to as “Bad Banki”) - spuriously froze Panquake’s seed funding, citing money-laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws. Talk Liberation had abided by all proper protocols and made efforts to resolve the matter, to no avail. The funding was eventually unfrozen and nine months later was returned, exonerating Talk Liberation from accusations related to money laundering or terrorism funding. However, Islandsbanki did not provide any explanation, apology or compensation for the damages caused.

Sveinn Andrew Sveinsson, the Icelandic supreme court attorney working on the case said, “This case is yet another example of how the banking system is used to oppress free speech and journalism.”

At a recent preliminary hearing on March 5th Sveinsson stated, “Talk Liberation notified the bank of the existence of the funds and everything was done by the book, the due diligence was OK. But it seems to me they looked into the main shareholder Suzie Dawson and realised she was in a sense persona non grata in her home country of New Zealand as she has been vocal in fighting for freedom of speech. And as you know for example, with WikiLeaks, this method has been used before, when the bankers gave the order to the card and the banking system to close down payments sent to WikiLeaks. This is just the same method. My opinion is that Islandsbanki is just obeying orders that are coming from the international banking system.”

In March of 2023, Talk Liberation instructed lawyers to prepare suit to hold Islandsbanki to account. Across the last two years the case has progressed through a series of preliminary hearings, culminating in an upcoming April 3rd case hearing which will result in the first judgement in what may be a longer fight.

Talk Liberation and Panquake Founder Suzie Dawson emphasises the case’s importance. Dawson said "We aim to achieve justice for everyone who supports the Panquake campaign. The bank's processes were disproportionate, abusive and lacked transparency. Islandsbanki made a number of easily disprovable and unfounded claims in an attempt to justify its withholding of our funds and closing of our accounts. It would be disappointing to discover that these were merely a cover masking a hidden motive of political persecution.

One way or the other, we intend to get to the bottom of this for everyone's benefit and that is precisely what this lawsuit is about."

This case could set important legal precedents and even redefine what constitutes fair banking practices. The Bad Banki campaign amplifies the message that citizens deserve fairness, not obstruction, from those in power.

To raise awareness about the case and its public interest implications, Talk Liberation has today launched BadBanki.com - #BadBanki

BACKGROUND:

In 2021 Panquake was born out of the vision to rebalance the distribution of power between social media users and platforms, to create a space where users could communicate without being profiled and exploited by AI, advertisers and Big Data.

Since Talk Liberation's inception, it has grown into a multi-national organisation operating internationally, with staff spanning more than a dozen countries. Talk Liberation remains committed to fostering a safer internet environment that is free from censorship, mass surveillance and advertising, while empowering users globally.

Relevance of Iceland:

There is a long and storied history of banking abuses and protests in Iceland.
Icelandic financial crisis:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008–2011_Icelandic_financial_crisis

Massive Icelandic protests against the banks:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Icelandic_financial_crisis_protests

Iceland jailed bankers:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2016-03-31/welcome-to- iceland-where-bad- bankers-go-to-prison

98% of Icelanders voted against bailing out the banks:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Icelandic_loan_guarantees_referendum

Page 2 of 467% of voters voted for constitutional reform: (but didn't get it)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010–2013_Icelandic_constitutional_reform

WEBSITES:
BadBanki.com
BadBanki.is

Social media:
Twitter: https://x.com/badbanki
Telegram: t.me/bad_banki
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61572827444967
Minds: https://www.minds.com/badbanki
Gab: https://gab.com/badbanki
Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@badbanki

Enquiries
Please direct press enquiries to PR [at] talkliberation.com