The U.S. Treasury Department has labeled Multibanka and VEF Bank of Latvia as primary money laundering concerns, saying the banks had lax anti-money laundering controls, offered confidential banking services to non-Latvian customers and dealt with foreign shell companies."These two Latvian banks represent a danger to the international community because they facilitate the placement and movement of dirty money in the global financial system," said Daniel Glaser, Treasury's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes.The banks, headquartered in Latvia's capital, Riga, offered services such as numbered accounts and conducted transactions on behalf of shell companies, according to Treasury. Numbered...
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