A Brazilian bank didn’t have a leg to stand on when it forced a client to remove his shoes and do business in his socks, according to a ruling by a local circuit judge.
Many banks in crime-ridden Brazil have tight security with metal detectors and, on entering the Caixa Economica Federal (CEF) branch in Sao Paulo state, Lourivaldo de Santana was asked to empty his pockets.
But after the watch, phone and other small items, one of the guards “asked him also to remove his boots and then said that if he wanted to enter he’d have to go in socks,” the Sao Paulo federal court spokesman said Tuesday.
De Santana concluded his visit shoeless, but not without suffering “humiliation,” according to a judge, who ordered he be paid 5,000 reais, or about $1,430, in damages.
