Given the graft in our own current administration, we're lecturing other countries on their banking practices? We've changed the mission statement of the CFPB to removing undue regulations on business and we're lecturing other countries? We've rolled back the protections against the casino style management of banks and investment firms built in post-Great Recession and we're lecturing other countries? Or that's rich!
5
Industrial scale corruption only happens with the complicity of the government. If the judiciary can't prosecute and sanction the criminals in the financial system, all is lost. It sounds like the judiciary is part of the problem here. Corruption will continue to corrode the economy and the ruling class will continue to take their cut.
1
Indeed. Where was Věra Jourová, for European Commissioner Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality when this was happening? Bullying developing countries.
2
Sirs,
As an American company buying EU machinery and exporting to E. Europe and EAC area I can say that the compliance efforts undertaken by our Latvian bank (PNB) are detailed, comprehensive, strict and complete. Any legitimate business can comply. There were hard lessons learned by Latvian banks and I can see and feel the progress they have made.
Their proximity to Russia is an advantage. Despite sanctions there is still a lot of good normal business, with nothing to do with sanctions, going on in Russia and Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania stand to continue to benefit from this physical proximity and the benefit of having so many Russian speakers on hand. It continues to be an excellent logistical gateway as well.
I hope they continue to develop their banking and other sectors.
I’m sure the bad apples have moved on by and large to other places.
9
While much of the blame for going so easy on so many crooked banks for so long lies with the people who ran (and run) Latvia, I wonder about the apparent absence of enforcement action by the EU and the European Central Bank. Were they unable to intervene due to existing boundaries to their respective authority, or did they do their best to mimic the three monkeys (see no evil etc.)?
5
EU commission is only looking to castigate developing countries for alleged grievances while the biggest scandal happened inside the EU.
“Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality said: “We have established the strongest anti-money laundering standards in the world, but we have to make sure that dirty money from other countries does not find its way to our financial system. Dirty money is the lifeblood of organised crime and terrorism. I invite the countries listed to remedy their deficiencies swiftly. The Commission stands ready to work closely with them to address these issues in our mutual interest. "
Feb 2019 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-781_en.htm
All the while a few days later we find out the biggest laundry is going on inside the EU
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-06/these-are-the-banks-caught-in-the-russia-money-laundering-scandal
1
How convenient to blame everything on Russia! Well, Finland has a border with Russia. I haven't heard it was accused to be a money laundering country.
8
@yulia but what Finland doesn't have is a shared communist past, a large Russian minority and existing business connections and infrastructure.
18
KEEP YOUR EYES ON MNUCHIN and Trump. It could easily happen here with all the "under-the-table Republican "tax cuts" and "deals" that we can't see until it's too late.
Complete disregard for the rule of law doesn't help either.
11
Latvia has its work cut out for it. Especially because cleaning up the economy probably will cause a short-term hit as illicit stimulation disappears. I hope that a government sufficiently committed to fixing things can remain in power. But the long-term consequences of not cleaning things up are likely to be higher crime and economic dysfunction. Good luck to the Latvians!
11
The U.S. is proficient at lecturing other countries & their economic entanglements & still, no one firm nor individual has suffered any serious criminal consequence in contributing to the recession of 2008.
30
Latvia uses the Euro. Why do they need to use dollars from other countries?
1
@Maurie Beck
If buying something like oil, denominated in US Dollars the Euros would need to be converted to dollars to pay for the oil.
5
Probably for foreign investments.