"This decision is based upon our reasonable belief that WikiLeaks may be engaged in activities that are, among other things, inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments," the bank said.
Other financial institutions, including MasterCard Inc. and PayPal Inc., have also stopped handling payments for WikiLeaks, moves which hurt the site's ability to accept donations and support publishing efforts. The websites of some companies that have cut ties with WikiLeaks have come under cyber attack in recent weeks by hackers who support its mission.
On Satuday, Reached by phone, Bank of America spokesman Scott Silvestri declined further comment to The Associated Press.
"We ask that all people who love freedom close out their accounts at Bank of America," WikiLeaks said in a Twitter post Saturday. It also called on businesses to switch funds from the bank.
With its announcement, the Charlotte-based bank joins a fray that has ratcheted financial pressure on the website that released thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables, but has also prompted cyber attacks on businesses that cut ties with the activist site. The move comes as WikiLeaks says it's preparing a release of information on banks, which could include documents it says it has on Bank of America.
Assange told Computerworld magazine in 2009 that his organization had a trove of files on Bank of America. "At the moment, for example, we are sitting on 5GB from Bank of America, one of the executive's hard drives. Now how do we present that? It's a difficult problem," he was quoted as telling the magazine.
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