Banka Baltija was a Latvian bank which in the early 1990s was one of the largest banks in the country. It was founded in 1993, but closed down due to bankruptcy in June 1995.
 | |
| Industry | Banking, Financial services |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 |
| Defunct | June 12, 1995 |
| Fate | Bankrupt |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Latvia |
Key people | Aleksandrs Lavents (Chairman); Tālis Freimanis (President) |
Number of employees | 1,300 (1994) |
History
editBanka Baltija, associated with the father and son Emīls Lavents (born 1923, Odesa) and Aleksandrs Lavents (born 9 August 1959, Anapa) respectively, was founded in 1993 and experienced very rapid growth.[1] It became the largest bank in Latvian by offering high interest rates to savers and attracted many clients.[2] Its assets rose from US$25 million from 1993, to 242 million dollars in 1994, reaching 500 million in 1995. The bank's capital rose from 1 million in 1993, 20 million in 1994 to 44 million in 1995. The bank employed several Chekists and had links to the “Pārdaugava” organized crime network.[1][2][3] The Group of 24 loan to Latvia, which later became a landmark case of government mismanagement, passed through Banka Baltija.[2] Banka Baltija had 37 branches and 49 settlement groups all over Latvia employing 1300 people. In April 1995, when a financial crisis started, Banka Baltija had 283 million dollars in deposits and had given credits of 283 dollars[dubious – discuss].[citation needed]
Bankruptcy
editOn June 27, 1995, following the a bank crisis, The Supreme Court of Latvia (lv) found Banka Baltija insolvent. In 2007 bank's chairman Aleksandrs Lavents and president Tālis Freimanis were sentenced to imprisonment and Alvis Līdums who was accused of very large scale embezzlement was acquitted.[4][5] 3 March 2018 Banka Baltija was excluded from the Registry of Enterprises of Latvia.[5] "Invest-Riga", an auditing firm, liquidated the bank and completed on 22 March 2018.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Brauna, Anita; Galzons, Edgars (19 September 1998). "Divi Laventi" [Two Laventi]. Diena (diena.lv) (in Latvian). Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ a b c "Latvian Bank Woes". Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). 30 October 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Paskaidrojumi: 1Emīls Lavents - agrāk nesodīts. Pret viņu krimināllieta nav ierosināta, taču pastāv viedoklis, ka tieši E.Lavents kopā ar dēlu bija ietekmīgākais BB stratēģis. Dienas rīcībā esoša neapstiprināta informācija rāda, ka E.Laventam pieder ASV reģistrēta firma Standart Republic International Ltd, kura līdzdarbojās 8 luksu remontdarbos" [Explanations: 1Emils Lavents - previously unpunished. No criminal case has been initiated against him, but there is an opinion that E. Lavents together with his son was the most influential BB strategist. Unconfirmed information available to the day shows that E. Lavent owns the US-registered company Standart Republic International Ltd, which participated in 8 luxury repairs.]. Diena (diena.lv) (in Latvian). 12 June 1998. Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ "ECT konstatē cilvēktiesību pārkāpumus Laventa krimināllietas izskatīšanā" [The ECtHR finds human rights violations in Laventa's criminal case]. DELFI (in Latvian). 29 November 2002. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ a b c "Bēdīgi slavenā Banka Baltija beidzot izslēgta no uzņēmumu reģistra / The notorious Banka Baltija was finally excluded from the business register" (in Latvian). nra.lv. April 3, 2018.