Riga, December 17, LETA. A person whose activities at the beginning of December were of interest to Industra Bank by the State Police has not conducted transactions with the bank since 2018, as well as has not been subject to sanctions, Ieva Zauere, a representative of Industra Bank, told LETA.
She explains that the decision of the Vidzeme Suburb Court authorizing the proceedings in the bank was motivated by the possibility that the bank’s premises may contain objects, documents or data carriers that may be relevant to the investigation of the Czech law enforcement authorities, namely the court decision. it is not mentioned that any criminal activities at the bank could take place at present.
Zauere points out that the specific court decision states that the persons possibly involved in the crime have been conducting banking operations from various places in the Czech Republic and not in Latvia since 2015.
Raivis Kakānis, Chairman of the Board of Industra Bank, emphasizes that last year, from March 30 to September 1, the Financial and Capital Market Commission (FCMC) conducted a full-scale inspection of the bank in the field of money laundering prevention and sanction risk management. Kakānis informs that no systematic shortcomings were found during the inspection.
“Since the change of shareholders, the bank has done a lot of work to minimize the possibility of abusive or illegal use. As a confirmation of the regulator’s positive assessment of the changes implemented by the bank, this year’s improved risk rating from high to lower,” says Kakānis.
He emphasizes that the funds of the clients have not been frozen in the bank and no suspicions have been expressed in connection with the actions of the bank’s employees, as well as no procedural status has been applied to any person.
On Thursday, December 16, Sauer confirmed to LETA that the search of Industra Bank by the State Police had taken place in connection with a bank’s historical client for activities that took place while the bank was still under Russian and EU sanctions on Russia. billionaires brothers Arkady and Boris Rothenberg.
The archives of the agency LETA show that until the imposition of sanctions, a branch of the “SMP bank” owned by the Rotenberg brothers in Russia operated in Latvia. The bank avoided sanctions because in 2014 it was allegedly sold to management and renamed Meridian Trade Bank. Last year, the bank changed its name to Industra Bank, and now it is controlled by Latvian entrepreneurs.
Zauere explained that on December 8, the bank’s employees had provided the police with the necessary support to obtain the documents and data of interest.
Police said that documents were seized during the search, as well as a number of data carriers that may contain information relevant to the investigation and will be used as evidence in criminal proceedings investigated by the Czech law enforcement authorities.
The Czech National Bureau for Combating Organized Crime is investigating criminal proceedings for alleged violations of international sanctions and money laundering. The crime may have been committed by a Russian citizen residing in the Czech Republic and others who, at least from March 2015 until now, have deliberately violated EU international sanctions on Russian territory by conducting banking operations in various parts of the Czech Republic. annexation.
Czech lawmakers suspect that they have transferred funds to EU countries as well as to other countries in the course of banking operations on behalf of various companies controlled by Arkady Rothenberg. These include those suspected of tax evasion on business income, real estate transactions and other forms of profit. These illegal activities were committed by companies established, inter alia, in the British Virgin Islands.
The bank was established in 1994 and was originally called “Multibanka”. It later changed its name to SMP Bank, then became Meridian Trade Bank, and in the second half of January 2020 the bank changed its name to Industra Bank.
The bank’s largest shareholder with a 42.23% stake is currently SIA JAInvestment Holdings, which is owned by Jurijs Adamovičs, who is better known as the owner of the poultry company Alūksnes putnu ferma, Preiļu putni and other companies. In turn, 25% of the bank’s shares have been acquired by SIA “HPI 2”, the owners of which are indirectly Ralfs and Andis Kļaviņi. Ralfs Kļaviņš also indirectly owns SIA “Poligrāfijas grupa Mūkusala”, SIA “Mūkusalas māja” and SIA “Dienas grāmata”.
Industra Bank is one of the smallest banks in Latvia in terms of assets.
–
