Shockwaves from US investigation of Baltic banks reach Lithuania
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Swedbank headquarters in Vilnius / A. Vasilenko
The US authorities have launched an investigation into money laundering at Scandinavian-owned banks in the Baltic states. Although Lithuania is not in focus, the probe still casts a shadow over the financial sector. Meanwhile, the banks remain silent.
Two committees in the Lithuanian parliament, Seimas, discussed the probe in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, agreeing that the country needed to invest more into money laundering prevention.
Laurynas Kasčiūnas, the conservative chairman of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence, said after the meeting that Lithuania was not named in the investigation, which looks into Scandinavian banks branches in the Baltic states, but “a shadow is cast on everyone”.