Financial Services, Latvia, Legislation

The new department will supervise the finance and capital market players regarding the prevention on money laundering and terrorism financing, develop legislation for this area and ensure compliance with the national and international sanctions requirements.

At present the new structural unit employs nine people, but there are a total of 15 workplaces and the recruiting process continues. By the first half of 2017, the number of employees is expected to reach 20, the Commission said in its statement.

Peters Putnins, when taking up the position of the chairman of the Finance and Capital Market Commission, named strengthening of the financial sector’s reputation in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing as one of the most important tasks.

"It is very important that we are controlling this area in the financial sector with the respective resources. Everybody knows that service of non-resident cash flows is a significant part of Latvia’s financial sector and it is a high-risk business. The goals of the Commission is that Latvian market players are working with transparent cash flows and do not pose any risk for the country’s reputation. It is also a matter of the national security," said Putnins.

The new department will have five divisions – the Banking Supervision Division, the Non-Banking Supervision Division, the Transactions Monitoring Division, the Legislative and Regulatory Division, the Sanctions and Compliance Division.