NBB Ex-President: Credexbank Hardly Did Laundry

Former head of the National Bank of Belarus Stanislau Bahdankievich told that if the National Bank immediately intervened in the situation with Credexbank, checked all the facts and didn't hide good information, it would remove the problem and reduce the intensity of the negative consequences for the reputation of the Belarusian banks in the world. However, he has no doubt that greenwashing was really the case.

According to Stanislau Bahdankievich, the very possibility of money-laundering by a bank with some money (about $20 million) is really doubtful. It's hard to imagine that such a bank would transfer hundreds of millions of dollars of some companies, not engaged in economic activities. The expert admits a certain probability of error in the information about Credexbank operations, received by the U.S. Treasury, as well as an attempt to frame the bank.

Bahdankievich: Situation around Credexbank indicates isolation of Belarus

Also, Stanislau Bahdankievich considers that the fact of this financial scandal, known worldwide, testifies to the isolation of Belarus. According to him, if Belarus had good relations with other countries, the suspicions against Credexbank would have been reviewed in the first place. The financial departments of the two countries would have discussed the situation in confidence, without public statements.

Bahdankievich: One should check everything before drawing conclusions

“One should check everything first in order to draw conclusions. I personally doubt if those transfers involved shadow money. Some other questions are raised: where that money came from, how large those amounts were, whether they caused suspicion among the bank workers. Many questions arise, so one should check all the documents,” said Mr. Bahdankievich.

But if one really makes large transfers of shadow money, then, of course, it's a crime, committed with participation of the bank, the expert added.

According to the former head of the National Bank, the regulator does not follow literally every operation of banks, so one can't say that the NBB knew about money-laundering, if it really was taking place, but concealed it. He says, it's quite a different story that supervisors conduct regular examinations of all banks. So, their professionals should have noticed that some large transfers were carried out through a specific bank account.

In Belarus there are laws against laundering of money derived from illicit arms trade, drug trade and other illegal transactions. Banks are audited every year. The tax authorities are responsible for checking in this area, reminded Stanislau Bahdankievich.

As it was reported before, The United States has identified the Belarusian-based JSC CredexBank, or Credex, as an institution of “primary money-laundering concern.”

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