Jan.25, 2010

Estonian currency exchange company Tavid and Nordea Bank have been linked to what could be the biggest-ever money laundering scam in Eastern Europe.

Some 15 billion krooni (€958 million) is alleged to have changed hands in the scam through the Estonian currency exchange company. In December 2007 Tavid was sent 45 million krooni (€2.8 million) from an account linked to Yuri Kasjanov, a Bulgarian who is under investigation in his country for money laundering.

Kasjanov’s company, Stern Treid LLC, had a financial services contract with Tavid whereby 200 million krooni would be exchanged.

Tavid has been in hot water in the past after connections with other Bulgarian criminals were discovered, but the company was cleared of any wrong doing by prosecutors who said they had been taken advantage of.

An in-depth investigative article by the Äripäev business newspaper sponsored by the European Fund for Investigative Journalism alleges that three companies companies signed fictitious agreements with each other which they used to launder around a billion krooni worth of funds through the accounts.

The money is believed to have originated from Russia and was transferred back to Russia shortly after being cleaned.

Estonian prosecutors and Nordea Bank refuse to comment on the case while Tavid denies the story.

“We’re cleaner than clean,” Kuno Rääk, Tavid’s president, told the press. “AS Tavid has not been indicted for either inquiries or prosecution on this case by the authorities of Bulgaria and Estonia … we have acted in accordance with the law.”