Banks, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Latvia

Around EUR 6 mln will be invested in the Control Service over the next two years, added the minister.

Experts from the Organization of for Economic Cooperation and Development will assist the process of reorganization of the Control Service's supervisory system.

According to Reizniece-Ozola, OECD experts will help assess the process of determination of companies' actual beneficiaries by Latvian banks, and they will also analyze Latvia's laws and regulations to see if the current system of sanctions meets the standards in Europe and in other countries that Latvia cooperates with.

The experts will also help with drawing up guidelines for improving investigation of money laundering cases.

Reorganization of the Control Service will accelerate the decision-making process in the investigation and prevention of money laundering cases. For instance, if there is information about some suspicious deals, this information could be forwarded to the authorities without the involvement of the prosecutor general's office, said Reizniece-Ozola.