INFO:

Money looking for a route out of Russia and into the European Union appears to have found a crack in the banking system. Tens of billions of dollars have been laundered through mostly Baltic nations, swamping the outposts of Nordic banks. It's been an ongoing headache for European authorities and regulators. Now, a different issue entirely has raised the anxiety levels in European capitals. Russia plans to move the headquarters of its development bank to Hungary. All told European authorities don't know the extent of the money-laundering problem. But a picture is emerging. Around one trillion dollars has been moved out of Russia over the last 25 years by individuals and companies. This is not all illicit money. But that's money that has not returned to the country. Other sources of the money caught up in alleged money laundering include Moldova and Azerbaijan. The money has been moved via Malta, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In the biggest alleged money-laundering case, $230bn was transferred through the Danske Bank's Estonian branch between 2007 and 2015. Some of this money has been parked Into London's property market, Britain's offshore tax havens and villas in the south of France and Spain. As the investigation has continued, it's drawn in banks across Europe, including Danske Bank, Swedbank, Nordea Bank, Deutsche Bank, Credit Agricole, Ing Groep, Raiffeisen Bank International, ABN AMRO, Rabobank, Citigroup, and the Royal Bank of Scotland. Having failed to stem money laundering, Europe faces another dilemma: How does it respond to Viktor Orban's decision to allow Moscow to move its development bank to Budapest? While the bank is in its infancy and Hungary has a minority stake, it has no say in the way the bank is run. It would effectively have diplomatic immunity, so regulators would not be able to monitor it. Julius Horvath, economics professor at the Central European University, says Orban wants this bank in his country because,