Estonia shutters Versobank

The 27th March 2018 witnessed the announcement that the Central European Bank had withdrawn the banking licences of Versobank in Estonia upon the recommendation of the Financial Supervision Authority of Estonia.

The bank, owned by Ukrainians Vadim Ermoleav and Stanislav Velinsky had raised flags over repeated failure to combat money laundering.  According to the Head of the Financial Inspectorate Keilar Kessler “Versobank AS has 5,600 customers, of which only 2 thousand are residents of Estonia.  It is one of the smallest lending institutions in Estonia, the closure of which will have no negative consequences for the Estonian financial system, which is why the bank did not initiate a sanction procedure. The satisfaction of depositors’ demands in Versobank is sufficient.”