Is the money a gift out of natural love and affection - i.e. they do not want the money back and it is not in return for any service rendered or otherwise please?

Thanks. I assume you are comfortable that this is not a scam - I mention this not out of any disrespect to your family friend but for the sake of completeness as you will be aware of many such scams offering to send you money and so on. Do ensure that you are entirely comfortable that this is not and the source of the funds as you do not want to find yourself implicated in any form of money laundering charges.

Thanks

Providing you are entirely satisfied in this respect from there it would sensible for you to consider asking for written confirmation that the money is a gift. Ideally this would be in the form of a deed or the equivalent in the UAE.

The reason for this is that you have conclusive evidence that the money is a gift rather than a loan etc. You do not want to find yourself in a situation that your family friend is asking for the money back in a few years claiming that it was not a gift at all.

In terms of tax the UK does not charge tax on gifts received. There may be tax to pay in the UAE by your friend but presumably he will take his own advice in this respect. However in the UK there is no tax to pay on the receipt of a gift. You will need to pay tax on any income you receive on the money (e.g. interest) but not on the gift itself.

Is there anything above I can clarify for you any further?

There is no need to tell HMRC about your receipt of a gift. If you are self-employed, it is wise to keep the evidence that it is a gift. The reason for this is that if you are self employed and you are the subject of a tax enquiry HMRC might assume the gift is income from your trade/self-employment, if you can’t prove otherwise. However there is no need to notify them of the gift.

You can buy properties etc. If you are questioned by HMRC at any point you will have the evidence of the gift referred to above to show that you received the money as a gift.

Thats right. Keep the evidence you have of the money being a gift in your files in case it is needed in the future as above.

Is there anything else I can hep you with?

The bank can make enquiries as to the source of the monies to satisifed itself that it is not from a criminal source. It will tell you its requirements in this respect - normally a letter from the senders bank or his solicitor will be sufficient. Subject to this formality the money is yours and the bank manager has no say in how you choose to spend it.

What justification has he made for this?

Unless there is a restriction on the product type with the bank (i.e. the account only allows limited withdrawals - this can be the case with some savings accounts and bonds) the bank has no right to tell you how you can and can't spend your money. If you are unsatisified with the bank managers response, consider a complaint to a senior relationship manager and then to their complaints department. Ultimately you can refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman if you remain unsatisfied with the banks response.

A pleasure.

If you have no further questions for now I should be very grateful if you would kindly remember to click ACCEPT in order that I am credited for my time.

Kind regards

And to you.