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Weekly Lists
March 30, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 24
bne:Banker
Estonia’s Versobank closed down over money laundering allegations
The European Central Bank (ECB) pulled the license of Estonian lender Versobank on March 26, following the bank’s long-standing breaches of measures against money laundering and financing terrorism.
The ECB acted on the request of the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (FSA), which determined during inspections held in 2015- 2017 that the breaches were “systemic and long-lasting.” The bank continued with shady operations even after the FSA probe.
The closure of Versobank is likely to have little impact on the bank- ing system in Estonia, the Baltic state’s central bank Eesti Pank ascertained.
“Versobank had a marginal share of the market and mainly handled services for clients from outside Estonia,” Eesti Pank said in a statement.
Uzbek citizens will from April 1 be able to withdraw hard currency cash using their international payment cards within limits set
by commercial banks, according to a resolution signed by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
The move marks another step in removing barriers to the circulation of money within the Uzbek banking system. As things stand, Uzbeks find that exchanging their Uzbek money on the black market is a more reliable way of obtaining hard currency. The introduction of the payment card option should incentivise Uzbeks to hold their money in bank accounts. The development also further paves the way for the circulation of foreign currencies
in Uzbekistan’s economy.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has refused a bid to buy Russia’s Sberbank’s Ukrainian unit by Minsk-based small-
sized Paritetbank, which is controlled by the administrative affairs department of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
The decision was attributed to "the incompatibility of the applicant with the requirements of the legislation of Ukraine," the NBU said in a statement on March 27, without elaborating.
The central bank has already notified the applicant of its decision, and also discussed the issue of a further strategy of the financial institution with the new management of the Ukrainian unit of Sberbank.
Uzbekistan to allow citizens to withdraw forex in cash with international payment cards
Kyiv regulator rejects Lukashenko-backed bank's bid to buy Sberbank's Ukraine unit