Latvia Presses US Treasury to Help Lift Scrutiny Over Key Bank
- Finance chief Reirs says proposed ABLV ban has hit investment
- Baltic nation wants to wipe slate clean after banking scandals
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Latvia is making a push to convince US regulators to back off a now-defunct bank as the Baltic nation seeks to turn the page on a scandal that involved accusations of money laundering and illicit payments throughout the former Soviet Union.
Finance Minister Janis Reirs, who made a personal appeal to US Treasury officials during the International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington in April, said it was time for American officials to lift a proposed ban against ABLV Bank AS, once the nation’s No. 3 lender. Easing off would help boost investment and wipe the stain from Latvia’s financial system four years after the turmoil, he said.