# Bank transfer problem from Latvia



## Lamplighter (Jul 20, 2010)

Hi

Company has done some business (sale and export of product) with Latvia, nothing different to any other of our normal export orders.

Customer arranged payment by bank transfer in normal way (SWIFT from Riga), and UAE bank received funds into their holding account. Bank then requested various documentation from us (order, contract etc) which was provided.

Bank rejected the inbound transfer and returned funds to the sender, but would not give a reason (their policy, apparently).

Subsequently, customer resent payment to our alternative Company account with a different bank, and again the inbound transfer was rejected without clear reason.

In the meantime, we have successfully received funds by international transfer (to both accounts) against other similar orders, but from different countries. This would suggest the issue does not reside with ourselves.

I am frustrated at not being told why there is a problem. We have heard (rumour/anecdote) that there is some issue with money transfers from Baltic countries to UAE banks, can anyone verify?

Or is it likely that the problem is something to do with the sender? Perhaps historical in UAE? Alternatively something specific with the SWIFT document? One observation is that the Company name includes the word "SISTEMS" (transliteration from cyrillic) - could this spelling be an issue?

If anyone can shed any light, it would be appreciated!

Thanks, Lamp


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Hi Lamp,
That does sound unusual. You mentioned that the second transfer to a different account was also rejected but with a clear reason - did that reason make sense?
Dubai is such a regional import/export hub that it surprises me that UAE banks would be so fussy with payments coming in from Europe.
I used to work for a very large US tier 1 automotive supplier and we used to have big problems receiving payments into our UK account from UAE banks - as the UK banks always suspected that the funds were coming in from transactions with sanction countries (Iran, for instance).
Cheers
Steve


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## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Baltic State it may be but which bank exactly is it - could it be one of the Russian banks which have been embargoed ?


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## Sparki (Mar 22, 2014)

Hi There
I'm sorry I didn't go through all your post. but usually when the bank states that the money was returned as per their internal policy, it means that they are suspecting the reason for the transfer as money laundry or other several reasons.
they can't clearly state that we suspect you...


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