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Weekly Lists
July 28, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 26
bne:Banker
Latvian banks fined for circumventing North Korea sanctions
Belarus approves acquisition of Paritetbank by local businessman
The Latvian Finance and Capital Market Commission (FKTK) has levied fines totalling €2.9mn on two banks for failing to comply with regulations on money laundering and financing terrorism, the watchdog announced on July 21. The banks breached financial sanctions imposed on North Korea.
The fine comes as a result of FKTK’s cooperation with the US Fed- eral Bureau of Investigation. The FKTK and FBI established that Norvik Banka and Rietumu Banka allowed their customers to use offshore companies and chain transactions to circumvent interna- tional sanctions imposed against North Korea, the FKTK said in a statement. Rietumu carried out the illegal operations between 2009 and 2015, while Norvik did so in 2013 and 2014.
The Belarusian authorities have approved the acquisition of
local medium-sized lender Paritetbank by businessman Viktor Prokopenya for $50mn, according to a statement published by VP Capital investment company which is controlled by Prokopenya.
The deal was approved by a special decree signed by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on July 18, the statement said.
Prokopenya, who has dual Belarus-Cyprus citizenship, is a partner of Russian businessman Said Gutseriev, who also previously stated his intention to acquire Sberbank in Ukraine.
Four candidates have submitted letters of interest in buying 100% of Bank Victoria, a wholly-owned subsidiary of bankrupt Corporate Commercial Bank (Corpbank), a notice on Corpbank’s website said on July 24.
Corpbank completed the acquisition of Credit Agricole Bulgaria in June 2014. Days after the deal closed, Corpbank was hit by a bank run, which led to its bankruptcy. The acquired lender was subse- quently renamed Bank Victoria.
The latest attempt to sell Bank Victoria was launched on June 29. 100% of the bank is now being offered for sale in a package with Corpbank’s receivables against it. These amounted to BGN85.2mn (€43.6mn) at end-May, the marketing document said.
Four suitors express interest in acquiring Bulgaria’s Bank Victoria