Latvia To Adopt the Euro on Jan. 1

Has banking sector with a lot of Russian money

RIGA, Latvia (AP)—When Latvia adopts the euro on Jan. 1, it will bring with it a banking sector that is swelling with suspicious money from Russia and the east—just as the currency bloc is trying to clamp down on such havens.

It was just nine months ago that the eurozone had to rescue Cyprus, a similarly tiny member state that also specialized in attracting huge deposits from Russia and former Soviet states. Since then, eurozone leaders have vowed to crack down on financial sanctuaries and improve transparency.