{"id":5158,"date":"2018-02-22T16:47:09","date_gmt":"2018-02-22T16:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/?p=5158"},"modified":"2018-02-22T16:47:53","modified_gmt":"2018-02-22T16:47:53","slug":"atvian-banking-crisis-is-a-problem-for-the-european-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legitgambling.com\/news\/atvian-banking-crisis-is-a-problem-for-the-european-union\/","title":{"rendered":"Latvian Banking Crisis is a Problem for the European Union"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ABLVOnce again, Latvian banks are being rocked by a series of scandals. This new scandal will be not only problematic for Latvia but for the European Union, as well.<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s third-largest commercial lender, ABLV<\/a>, is facing\u00a0mounting problems this week. <\/p>\n

These problems come after the U.S. Treasury has accused the bank of laundering money and defying Western sanctions targeting the rogue nation of North Korea<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

Also, grabbing the headlines over the weekend, the head of the Latvian central bank was being held in custody. He is accused of soliciting a bribe by Riga’s anticorruption agency.<\/p>\n

Latvian Authorities Claim that the Two Scandals are Unconnected<\/h2>\n

Still, the dramatic headlines are a shock to a country which advertises itself as a financial bridge between Europe’s west and east. As of Tuesday, the European Central Bank<\/strong> (ECB) is stopping all payments by AVLB bank after its liquidity position plummeted in the wake of the allegations from U.S. authorities.<\/p>\n

According to Reuters<\/a> news, last week, the U.S. Treasury accused ABLV bank of “institutionalized money laundering<\/em>‘. This includes allowing banking clients to conduct business with parties connected to\u00a0North Korea<\/strong> in direct violation of sanctions imposed by the\u00a0United Nations. These sanctions follow the world\u2019s efforts to stop the rogue nation\u2019s nuclear weapons program. ABLV said the accusations are without merit and are based on \u201cunfounded and misleading information<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

ABLV\u2019s principal mission is to move money around the world. Most of this money tends to originate from Russian sources. These accusations, now claim, that some of ABLV’s transactions are also linked to Pyongyang.<\/p>\n

Latvian Banks have a History of Regulatory Problems<\/h2>\n

Recently a number of banks in Latvia have been subject to regulatory problems surrounding improper business practices. This is not a new phenomenon to the country. Last year banks in Riga were fined by Eurozone banking regulators when they allowed clients to bypass international sanctions surrounding North Korea.<\/p>\n

Financial Times<\/strong><\/p>\n