Posts falsely claim Australian arrested for trying to take out cash

"The world needs to understand what is happening in Australia... This man went to take $5,000 out his own bank account and was arrested for it," reads part of the caption of a Facebook video shared May 19, 2025.

The video shows a man being hauled out of a Commonwealth Bank branch by several police officers and being bundled into a police van.

Text overlaid on the video says: "All he wanted was his cash.. bank said no."

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on May 22, 2025

The same clip proliferated across Facebook, Instagram and X. 

"He was arrested for wanting access to his own funds. This isn't fiction. This is the war on cash -- and it's already here," read a comment on one of the posts.

AFP has previously debunked false claims regarding access to cash in Australia, where its use has declined in recent decades (archived link).

A study by the Reserve Bank of Australia found that consumer payments made in cash fell from 70 percent by number in 2007 to 13 percent in 2022. Authorities say they are committed to ensuring Australians have cash access (archived link).

Banks may ask customers questions about large withdrawals if they suspect they may be victims of fraud, but the man in the video was not arrested simply for trying to take out cash (archived link).

Signage for Redfern Street, a store called PT Beauty and Nails and the blue logo of law firm Pocket Legal can all be seen in the video near the Commonwealth Bank branch.

Google Earth Street View imagery shows the bank is located at the intersection of Redfern and Renwick streets in Redfern, a suburb of Sydney (archived link). 

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Screenshot comparison of the circulating video (left) and the location of the bank on Google Earth (right)

AFP confirmed with New South Wales police that the incident was unrelated to the bank barring a customer from withdrawing his money, but rather a 27-year-old man who turned violent when he tried to withdraw money from his account with no available funds.

A spokesperson for the police told AFP on May 21 that authorities were called to "a bank on Redfern Street, Redfern following reports of a man being abusive to staff and other customers" on the morning of January 18, 2024. 

He had also damaged a desk and a protection window, and police told him to leave the bank. 

Later that day, police were called to the same location "following reports of the same man being abusive to staff", and they asked him to leave. 

When he did not leave, he was arrested and taken to Mascot Police Station, the spokesperson said. 

He was charged with hindering and resisting a police officer in the execution of duty, behaving in an offensive manner in public, refusing to comply with direction, and breaching bail. The man was not charged with anything related to his attempt to withdraw funds.

AFP could not independently verify the man's identity. AFP contacted Commonwealth Bank for comment on May 21, but a response was not forthcoming.

The Australian Associated Press also debunked the claim (archived link).