The topic continued from MindLink.lv news 24.07.2020. Based on EU and Latvian legislation, in 2019 the Financial Intelligence Unit drew up guidelines, describing methods for identifying politically exposed persons (“PEPs”).
In times of adverse and significant events, such as a war, crisis or pandemic, there is a certain group of people that will try to exploit the national emergency situation in their own interests. It is no surprise that this phenomenon has now surfaced in response to the global outbreak of COVID-19. At the very outset of the pandemic, cybersecurity companies and news agencies repeatedly warned us about an increase in phishing attacks, with people receiving virus reports from authorities such as the WHO enticing them to download malware on their devices.
Governments and health supervisory agencies around the world have launched an all-out fight against COVID-19, but more needs to be done. Several countries have quarantined millions of people, and if the situation deteriorates, more countries might follow suit. COVID-19 has become a serious risk for the Latvian economy as well as globally.
We have lately heard that it is advisable to register your company as a person subject to the Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist and Proliferation Financing (AML/CTPF) Act rather than receiving a letter from the State Revenue Service (SRS) warning that they are about to examine your system of internal controls, which does not exist. This article explores how much of this talk is true.
The events surrounding ABLV Bank and its subsequent liquidation have torn open a wound in the Latvian banking sector. The harsh ban on opening accounts for shell companies spares no one. @WeAreNotShell is a slogan posted on Telegram, Twitter and Facebook as well as other social networks since April 2018 by non-residents suffering at the hands of Latvian banks and complaining how they are having to prove the existence of their business and how endless enquiries and requests from Latvian banks are becoming absurd.