New government data suggests Latvia is not keeping abreast of money laundering, even though its banks are flagging thousands of suspicious transactions annually.

Latvia launched just 85 money laundering probes last year, despite its banks having flagged 17,900 suspicious transactions, according to Reuters. 

Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis has promised to invest more in bank surveillances after a US probe prompted the closure of ABLV, Latvia’s third-largest lender, by accusing it of money laundering and breaking North Korean sanctions. 

The number of suspicious banking transactions in Latvia referred to authorities is far lower than similar statistics for Switzerland and the European Union.

In 2017, only 225 files were forwarded to Latvian enforcement authorities, or 1 per cent of the transactions flagged, according to the government data seen by Reuters. For comparison, in Switzerland around 60 per cent of suspicious activity reports were forwarded to police in 2016.