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Inguna Sudraba, Parex Bank, Southern Bridge

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Inguna Sudraba was a member of the Parex Bank Credit Committee from 2003 to 2004 and therefore was responsible for (1) making undisclosed-related-party loans, (2) making loans that exceeded the bank’s lending limit, and (3) acting as credit committee for secret subsidiary Extro Bank of Russia.

In 2008 and 2009, the Latvian people learned that half of the loan portfolio of Parex was bad, thus indicating severe problems with the Parex Credit Committee.

Was this the end of Sudraba’s career?  No!  Now in 2012, she is the Latvian State Controller (Auditor)!

Sudraba, working as State Controller, cannot find any corruption in Latvia.  For example, Parex arranged financing for the “Southern Bridge” in Latvia.  Latvian taxpayers will pay 1,000 million euros for a bridge that is worth 300 million euros.  Sudraba cannot figure out where the other 700 million euros went.

Latvian newspapers keep naming Sudraba as a wonderful person who should be President or Prime Minister in the future.  The articles never mention that she was on the Parex Credit Committee.

Southern Bridge

Banco Santander robbed buying Extro Bank?

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One of the items from John Christmas’ Parex Bank whistleblowing list from 2004 was that Parex secretly owned a bank in Russia.

Christmas claimed that Parex owned and operated Extro Bank.  For example, the Parex Credit Committee approved the loans that Extro Bank extended.  Latvian State Controller Inguna Sudraba was on that committee.

The fraud claim is backed up by an email written by Parex vice president james brown.  The claim is also backed up by a Skype conversation (below) with former Parex manager Christa Rubstein.  She also confirms in the conversation that Parex paid employee compensation illegally.

Even though three witnesses wrote that Parex owned Extro Bank, the auditors at Ernst & Young did not care at all and ignored the huge fraud.

Therefore, Parex was able to sell Extro Bank to Banco Santander.  Santander is one of the largest banks in Europe and has millions of shareholders in Spain and the United Kingdom.

According to emails (below) from a private investigator who contacted Christmas, Banco Santander got “robbed” in the purchase.  The loss could have been 40 or 50 million euros.

Law enforcement is not interested at all, as usual.  Also, the media is not interested.

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