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Latvia Probes Multiple Unnamed Banks Over North Korea Ties

  • Inquiry follows U.S. sanctions against Turkish company
  • Baltic nation’s reputation has suffered from laundering cases
A person walks beneath portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il displayed in Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang.

A person walks beneath portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il displayed in Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang.

Photographer: Carl Court/Getty Images

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Latvia is looking into connections between several unnamed local lenders and a Turkish company sanctioned by the U.S. for attempting to supply North Korea with weapons and luxury goods.

Already grappling with the closure of its No. 3 lender and bribery charges against its central bank governor, the latest allegations stem from Oct. 4 action by the Treasury Department against SIA Falcon Group, which has an entity in Latvia. The U.S. froze its American property and interests, and prohibited citizens from dealing with it.