John Christmas (banker)

John Christmas (born 1969 in the United States) is a former banker and writer. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.

Whistleblowing

John Christmas was a banker in the United States in the 1990s at Corus Bank of Chicago and M&T Bank of Buffalo. He then moved to Latvia and worked as Head of the International Relationships Group at Parex Bank from 2002 to 2004. He reported certain information about Parex Bank to the Latvian General Prosecutor in 2005.[1][2][3][4]

The Latvian government did not take any action and Christmas went into exile. Parex Bank continued to expand until November 2008 when the Latvian government announced that the Latvian taxpayers would pay back the Parex Bank liabilities.[5]

During the 2008 Latvian financial crisis, the Latvian government asked the EBRD, IMF, and EU for a bailout, to be repaid by Latvian taxpayers.[6][7]

The videos on the LatviavEBRD channel on YouTube feature Christmas speaking about Parex Bank.[8] Also, several news services including the Lithuania Tribune, www.925.nl, www.Pagina99.it, and www.rosvesty.ru have reported on the fraud allegations. (note 9 and new notes) The EBRD has refused to respond to the allegations as of January 2016.[9][10][11]

In November 2015, Christmas spoke about his whistleblowing experiences at the Offshore Alert conference, in London.[8]

As of January 2016, Parex Bank successor Citadele Bank is still in business providing offshore banking services for Russian and Ukrainian clients. Citadele is still funded by the EBRD. The Latvian Prosecutors Office is not prosecuting anyone. Christmas remains living in exile, threatened with arrest. He spoke at a United States Senate briefing on June 4, 2014 about fraud allegations against the Latvian government, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Parex Bank, and Citadele Bank.[12][13][14]

Writing

John Christmas's first novel, Democracy Society, was published in 2011. It could be categorized as a dystopian novel or a political thriller. The novel is set primarily in the United States and Russia, however the inspiration for the novel was the dysfunctional democratic government and oligarch economy of Latvia.[15]

Other

John Christmas is named for his grandfather's first cousin John Christmas Moeller, who is considered by some to have been the leader of the Danish Resistance during World War II.

References

  1. ↑ Briedis, Uldis (2 February 2010). "Vēršas prokuratūrā par pārkāpumiem Parex". Diena (in Latvian). Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  2. ↑ Petrāne, Lelde (31 October 2007). "No kā baidās John Christmas? (telefona sarunu ieraksti!)". Dienas Bizness (in Latvian). Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  3. ↑ Petrāne, Lelde (31 October 2007). "Vairākus gadus cenšas pierādīt nelikumības Parex". Dienas Bizness (in Latvian). Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  4. ↑ "United States v. Daimler AG Court Docket Number: 10-CR-063-RJL". USDOJ: CRM: Fraud. United States Department of Justice. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  5. ↑ "On the take-over of "Parex banka"". Press release. Bank of Latvia. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  6. ↑ "Statement by IMF Managing Director Strauss-Kahn on Latvia". Press release. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  7. ↑ "IMF Set to Lend $2.4 Billion to Latvia". IMF Survey Magazine. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  8. 1 2 "Latvia versus EBRD". YouTube. YouTube. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  9. ↑ TBT Staff (28 October 2011). "Parex whistleblower video released". The Baltic Times. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  10. ↑ Mauro Caterina (13 January 2014). "La Lettonia nell'euro, un "modello" sospetto". Pagina99. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  11. ↑ Arno Wellens (13 January 2014). "'Nomura hielp Letland probleemschulden te verhullen' [Baltische Banken 3]". 925.nl. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  12. ↑ "United States Senate briefing". Lawless Latvia. LawlessLatvia.com. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  13. ↑ Adriatic Institute Staff (9 June 2014). "US Senate Briefing on America and Europe's Economic, Financial and Security Risks: Crisis on The European Continent". Libertas. Adriatic Institute. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  14. ↑ Michele Fletcher (10 June 2014). "Event Recap: How Illicit Financial Flows are Europe's Common Enemy". Global Financial Integrity. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  15. ↑ Enright, John. "Democracy Society". The Atlasphere. Retrieved 1 December 2011.


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