Banks, Belarus, Latvia, Legislation

A request for assistance in investigation of the case was received earlier this year, Kurchak said. The request is based on the two countries' agreement signed in 1994.

Kurchak declined to comment on what procedures had been taken in Belarus, explaining that only the Latvian Prosecutor's Office could comment on the case.

As reported, on Tuesday officers from the Specialized Prosecution Office for Organized Crime and Other Branches, Corruption Prevention Bureau, the State Police's Organized Crime Department, the State Revenue Service's Tax and Customs Board, and the Financial and Capital Market Commission carried out a number of procedural actions, including at least 20 searches in Latvia and, in cooperation with foreign authorities, in Belarus.

The materials in the criminal case contain information about an organized group of nationals from several countries who carried out money laundering in the amount of at least EUR 50,000,000 between 2015 and 2018, including by making transfers to one of the credit institutions of Latvia for transactions that actually did not take place.

The crimes committed by the organized group were supported by the unnamed credit institution, which is currently undergoing liquidation procedures, and its employees who eliminated obstacles to the transfer of funds, investigators believe.