An international complaint filed by Latvian bank Norvik alleges that a “Senior Latvian Official” repeatedly sought “to extort monetary bribes” and retaliated against the bank when its owners refused to pay up. He was released on bail Monday, and said he “rejects everything” about the allegations, Latvian state TV reported. Barely one week later, France fined Latvian bank Rietumu 80 million euros for money laundering. So the accusations of extortion by the Latvian bank Norvik hit at the heart of power in Latvia and the ECB. The Latvian state rescued the bank at a cost of about $1 billion dollars, a colossal sum for Latvia.

Source: Washington Post February 19, 2018 16:28 UTC