More than LVL 70 million already has been paid out to Latvijas Krājbanka clients after the financial institution’s collapse, but account holders abroad may have a tougher time getting to their money.

The bank, Latvia’s 10th largest in terms of deposits, was shut down by regulators after its parent company—Lithuania’s Bankas Snoras, that country’s third largest bank—collapsed amid allegations its owners siphoned off an estimated USD 1.3 billion in assets.

Lithuania’s government refused to bail out the bank. Latvian authorities followed up by taking over Krājbanka on Nov. 21, the Financial and Capital Market Commission (Finanšu un kapitālu tirgus komisija, or FKTK) announced.

Under Latvian banking law, deposits are insured up to EUR 100,000 (about LVL 70,000) from the Deposit Guarantee Fund, regardless of whether the account holder is a resident or a non-resident of the country. Reimbursements began to be paid out on Nov. 29.

Latvijas Krājbanka’s customers abroad can designate someone in Latvia to collect the insured value of their account by preparing a notarized proxy, an FKTK spokeswoman told Latvians Online in an email. The commission recommends that customers contact the nearest Latvian embassy or consulate for assistance on preparing the proxy.

Clients abroad who have used a Latvijas Krājbanka credit or debit card (norēķinu karte) to pay bills may have to ask friends, relatives or acquaintances in Latvia to help them get their money using a money transfer service like MoneyGram or Western Union, the spokesperson suggested.

Otherwise, customers from abroad can apply for the funds when in Latvia. The insured amount will be available for 60 years—until 2071, according to the FKTK.

An estimated 235,000 customers of Latvijas Krājbanka will receive the guaranteed payments.

Ironically, the payouts from Latvijas Krājbanka are being made through Citadele Bank. Citadele was formed in 2010 after the Latvian government took over the failed Parex Bank and transferred that bank’s good assets to the new financial institution.

After the collapse of Bankas Snoras and the seizure of Latvijas Krājbanka, Lithuanian authorities issued arrest warrants for Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov and his Lithuanian partner Raimondas Baranauskas, who were the major shareholders in Snoras. Both were arrested Nov. 24 in London and then released on bail.

Latvijas Krājbanka was founded in 1924. Bankas Snoras in 2005 bought majority interest in Krājbanka.

According to its 2010 annual report, Latvijas Krājbanka held more than LVL 575 million in deposits from customers, almost 60 percent of them private citizens. About 17 percent of the total deposits were from non-residents of Latvia.

Further information about account reimbursements is available by calling the Citadele Bank client contact center at +371 6 7010000.

Complaints about the reimbursement amount or questions about recognizing a person as a Latvijas Krājbanka depositer may be directed to the FKTK by telephone at +371 67774800 or +371 67774801, by email to fktk@fktk.lv, or by mail to Finanšu un kapitālu tirgus komisija, Kungu iela 1, Riga, LV-1050, Latvia.

With two days left in the campaign, supporters of amending Latvia’s constitution to make Russian the second official language are about 11,000 signatures short of meeting their target, according to new data released by the Central Election Commission in Rīga.

The campaign began Nov. 1 and as of Nov. 28 a total of 130,678 signatures have been recorded in the citizen initiative, the commission announced in a Nov. 29 press release. Added to the total will be 12,533 signatures submitted on a petition that began the initiative.

In all, supporters need 154,379 signatures—representing 10 percent of the eligible voters in the last parliamentary election—to get the proposed amendments before the Saeima. As of Nov. 28, they have nearly 93 percent of the total.

Observers commenting in Latvian media note that if the signature campaign is successful, the proposed legislation is likely to be defeated in the Saeima. Under the constitution, that would trigger a national referendum on the language issue.

Supporters of the measure, led by the pro-Russian organization “Dzimtā valoda,” want to amend five paragraphs in the constitution to give Russian equal status to Latvian. Under the constitution’s current language, Latvian is the only official language.

The signature campaign continues through Nov. 30 at local government offices in Latvia and at 39 embassies and consulates outside the homeland. A list of the locations abroad is available from the Central Election Commission’s website, www.cvk.lv.

The Central Election Commission is to begin verifying the signatures on Dec. 1.

An initiative that could make Russian an official language in Latvia now has more than half the signatures needed to get the parliament to consider amending the country’s constitution, according to figures compiled by the Central Election Commission in Rīga.

However, supporters have just one more week to get the total of 154,379 voters—10 percent of all those eligible—they need to get proposed legislation before the Saeima. The deadline for gathering signatures is Nov. 30.

From Nov. 1-21, according to the election commission, a total of 78,279 eligible voters had signed on to the initiative. Combined with the 12,533 who put their names on a petition to begin the process, supporters now have nearly 59 percent of the total required.

Under the constitution, Latvian is the country’s only official language. The “Dzimtā valoda” (Native Language) group is pushing to change five sections of the constitution to give Russian equal status. An estimated 27.4 percent of Latvia’s population is ethnic Russian, according to the Central Statistical Bureau, while ethnic Latvians account for 59.5 percent.

The initiative got a boost when Rīga Mayor Nils Ušakovs, who is an ethnic Russian, announced that he had signed the initiative. He has said that his political party, the center-left Harmony Centre (Saskaņas centrs) maintains its support for Latvian as the only state language. However, during a party congress on Nov. 17 he encouraged members to also sign the initiative, according to media reports.

If the initiative succeeds, the Saeima will have to consider the proposed changes to the constitution. However, it is expected the legislation would be defeated, which would then lead to a national referendum.

Outside of Latvia, voters interested in adding their signature to the initiative may do so at one of 39 embassies and consulates. A list of the locations abroad is available from the Central Election Commission’s website, www.cvk.lv.