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The Committee on Financial and Capital Markets (FCMC) has verified information relating to the exchange of payment messages allegedly encumbered by Latvian banks in the SWIFT organization's service network – no information available. was received regarding the inclusion of Latvia in the list of high-risk countries. The FCMC, a Latvian commercial bank, confirmed on Wednesday that all processes were proceeding in the usual order. In turn, the SWIFT Regional Office informed the Latvian authorities that this organization did not have any information on SWIFT's decisions regarding the creation of lists of high-risk countries.
Peters Putnins, head of the FCMC, explains that SWIFT is an organization that provides banks with the exchange of messages for their communication networks and that the process takes place in a few seconds. The SWIFT system sends the payment messages to the payee's bank immediately on the SWIFT network.
"SWIFT has never performed and does not conduct anti-money laundering / bankruptcy inspections or control of banks not belonging to the bank and does not withhold payments. banks to exchange orders relating to various types of financial transactions, including interbank services, in a secure and standardized manner.The authorities responsible for monitoring our sector have confirmed that this exchange of information was taking place without clashes and in an orderly way both domestically and internationally, "said Putnins.
After reviewing the information, FCMC and the other responsible institutions do not have confirmation that a decision would be taken, a message indicating whether the list in which SWIFT would have badessed the Latvian state as a high-risk area.
The FCMC notes that SWIFT, as an organization, does not list banks or countries based on certain criteria and does not retain payment reports. As stated in SWIFT information – SWIFT is a neutral organization that provides a messaging service and does not participate in any financial transaction control or monitoring system. As a global service provider, SWIFT does not make any decisions regarding the imposition of restrictions or sanctions, these control issues are the responsibility of the beneficiary countries and their co-legislators.
"I appeal to anyone wishing to publish information likely to harm the international reputation of our country, or more particularly for a sector as sensitive as the financial sector and its smooth and stable operation, to check each publication before its comment Unexplained facts are creating a false impression on our country, the Latvian banking sector and the work already done to strengthen the international reputation of the Latvian financial sector and to transform the approach of the banking sector, "said Putnins.
The FCMC indicates that the transmission of payment messages is one of the steps of the interbank settlement. The exchange of messages between banks within the SWIFT network takes place in a few seconds. SWIFT does not keep payment reports in check. Payments on payment orders sent via the SWIFT network are made using payment systems (for example, the Eurosystem's TARGET2 Eurosystem payment system) or through accounts opened by banks among themselves (correspondent accounts).
As a provider of financial transaction network services, SWIFT does not realize the potential for legalization of the proceeds of crime, including customer due diligence (CDD), payment orders sent via the SWIFT network. Whether banks choose to use their own solutions, SWIFT services or other technical solutions developed by IT companies, the management of money laundering and terrorist financing risks is the responsibility of the shipper and the bank. recipient of payment orders.
Subsidiary services offered by SWIFT include a number of additional services which, like solutions developed by other organizations and their own banks, allow banks to optimize their operations, including through implementation of regulatory risk management related to money laundering and terrorist financing. Corresponding banks that receive the SWIFT payment messages themselves can perform extensive inspections. SWIFT offers additional tools for an additional fee that can help its customers (banks) to control the AML (to identify and report suspicious transactions to the user of this tool). But it is a different type of software and is not part of the SWIFT telecommunication network.
At the meeting of the Saeima Committee on Budget and Finance (Taxation) on Tuesday 27 November, Dana Reizniece-Ozola (Green and Peasant Union) declared that Latvia had been included in the high-risk part of the international payment system SWIFT. "If in the past, international transfers were made during the day, transfers often take a week, because SWIFT carries out additional checks," she said.
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