Banque Commerciale pour l'Europe du Nord – Eurobank

Banque Commerciale pour l’Europe du Nord (BCEN) or Banque Commerciale pour l'Europe du Nord – Eurobank (BCEN-Eurobank) was a Soviet-controlled bank in Paris,[1] founded in 1921 by wealthy Russian emigres and supported by the Council of People's Commissars (SovNarKom) (Russian: Совнарком) through Leonid Krasin who, in 1925, sold their stakes to the Soviet Union.[2] It maintained correspondent accounts with Western banks to secure lines of credit for facilitating Soviet imports into that country in which the correspondent account is located. Also, these correspondent accounts performed foreign currency exchange for the Kremlin.[3]

History

During the 1920s and 1930s, Soviet and numerous foreign sources referred to this bank as the Aero Bank (Russian: «Аеробанк») or Airbank in Paris (Russian: «Эйробанк» в Париже) and not the Aero-Bank SA which was a branch of the German bank Aerobank, which was known as the Bank der Deutschen Luftfahrt AG (BDL), and established in Paris by Nazi Germany during its occupation.[4]

The Soviet Union used the bank to manage Spain's gold reserves during the Spanish Civil War.[5]

After the fall of the Soviet Union, many persons involved with BCEN-Eurobank became leaders in Russian economy, banking, and finance.[6]

The 1993 established Moscow bank "Evrofinance" was a subsidiary of Eurobank.[7]

During the 1990s, BCEN – Eurobank was involved in the looting of Russia.[8]

In 2005, Russia's Vneshtorgbank became the major shareholder. Later, Vneshtorgbank changed its name to VTB Bank, and BCEN-EUROBANK name was changed to VTB Bank (France) SA.

Operations

Eurobank participated in foreign currency exchange and Eurocurrency markets and was a leader in Eurodollar lending. In December 1973, Eurobank and Credit Lyonnais formed the Societe pour la Promotion Europeenne du Leasing (Promolease) based in Paris to promote and finance leasing operations for Soviet heavy construction equipment, Soviet snowplows, Soviet machine tools, Soviet Lada vehicles, and Czechoslovakian Škoda Auto vehicles.[9]

The Soviet Union supplied funds through Eurobank to the French Communist Party (PCF).[10][11][12][lower-alpha 1]

The bank had its offices at 77, 79, and 81, boulevard Haussmann in Paris.[16]

Other associated banks

VTB has the western subsidiaries of the Central Bank of Russia and, before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the daughters of the Soviet Union's Gosbank which were the Banque commerciale pour l'Europe du Nord or BCEN-Eurobank in Paris, Moscow Narodny Bank in London, Ost-West Handelsbank in Frankfurt, Donau Bank in Vienna, and East-West United Bank in Luxembourg.[17][lower-alpha 2]

Eurobank was associated with Eurogrefi (Paris), RTD France (Paris), Evrofinance (Moscow) and others.[20]

Key people

See also

Notes
  1. Leonid Georgievich Kucheruk (Russian: Леонид Георгиевич Кучерук; born Agronomic, Vinnytsia Raion, Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union died 22 December 1996 Minsk, Belarus) managed one of the financial links between the Soviet Union and French Communist Party (PCF). He had fought in the Soviet War in Afghanistan, worked for the magazine Sovetsky Soyuz in Mexico as his cover for his KGB activities, and was a KGB Colonel when died of wounds inflicted during torture. His close associate in Mexico was the intelligence officer and photographer also with Sovetsky Soyuz Yuri Korolev (Russian: Юрий Королев) who died on 8 November 1994 from injuries inflicted during torture. On 27 January 1997, Vadim Osipovich Biryukov (Russian: Вадим Осипович Бирюков), who was a KGB officer, was a colleague of both Korolev and Kucheruk, and was a deputy director general of the magazine Business People (Russian: «Деловые люди»), died from injuries inflicted during torture.[13][14][15]
  2. Following the February and March 2022 sanctions issued against VTB and its subsidiaries which include the former daughter banks of the Soviet Union's State Bank Gosbank and later the Central Bank of Russia, EWUB in Luxembourg has become the principal Russian overseas bank in Europe after Gazprombank's liquidation.[18] As of the end of March 2022, the Vladimir Yevtushenkov (Russian: Владимир Петрович Евтушенко) controlled Sistema and its subsidiary East-West United Bank (EWUB) in Luxembourg have not been sanctioned due to Russian interference in Ukraine.[18][19]

References
  1. The piratization of Russia: Russian reform goes awry. Marshall I. Goldman.
  2. Сухотина, Инна (Sukhotina, Inna) (10 November 2003). "Сколько стоит приданое "дочек" Банка России?" [How much is the dowry of the "daughters" of the Bank of Russia?]. «Российская газета» (Rossiyskaya Gazeta) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 29 November 2003. Retrieved 16 October 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. "Intelligence Report Soviet-owned Banks in the West" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  4. "Томас Иванович Алибегов: Последовало мнение, что мне в советской банковской системе не место!" [Tomas Ivanovich Alibegov: There was an opinion that I had no place in the Soviet banking system!] (PDF). Экономическая Летопись России (Economic Chronicle Russia) (in Russian). April 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  5. "Stalin and the Spanish Civil War".
  6. "Виктор Константинович Якунин: Нашим возможностям соответствовал, Ost-West Handelsbank" [Victor Konstantinovich Yakunin: Our capabilities matched, Ost-West Handelsbank] (PDF). letopis.org (in Russian). pp. 2–3 (pages 459–460). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  7. "Пономарёв Юрий Валентинович" [Ponomaryov Yury Valentinovich]. Экономическая Летопись России (Economic Chronicle Russia) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  8. Powell, Bill (28 March 1999). "Follow the Money". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  9. "Soviet and East European-owned banks in the West" (PDF). CIA. December 1975. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023. See page 6 and 12.
  10. Belton 2020, p. 543 see note 26.
  11. Charpier, Frédéric [in French] (2 October 2014). "« Les « patrons rouges » au cœur des rouages financiers du Parti communiste français » (The "red bosses" at the heart of the financial cogs of the French Communist Party)". Histoire secrète du patronat de 1945 à nos jours [Secret History of Employers from 1945 to the Present] (in French). La Découverte. pp. 271–281. ISBN 9782707178930.
  12. Faligot, Roger (2 November 2007). "« Quand le Parti communiste touchait l'argent de Moscou » (When the Communist Party received money from Moscow)". Histoire secrète de la Ve République [Secret History of the Fifth Republic] (in French). La Découverte. ISBN 9782707153500.
  13. Смехов, Вениамин (Smekhov, Veniamin) (4 December 2014). ""Золото партии"" [Party Gold]. NTV (in Russian). Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. "90-е "Золото партии"" [90s "Party Gold"]. ТВ Центр (tvc.ru) (in Russian). 29 June 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2022. окументальный фильм ТВ Центр: Золото партии Девяностые Alternate link on YouTube from 2018
  15. Соколов, Сергей (Sokolov, Sergei); Плужников, Сергей (Pluzhnikov, Sergei) (7 May 2001). "Золото КПСС - десять лет спустя: Почему "новые русские" капиталисты финансируют коммунистов" [Gold of the CPSU - ten years later: Why "new Russian" capitalists finance communists]. Free Lance Bureau (flb.ru) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. Jean Montaldo (2012). Mitterrand et les 40 voleurs. Paris: Albin Michel.
  17. Stern, Babette; Duparc, Agathe (10 October 1999). "La Cour des comptes russe dénonce l'opacité des filiales étrangères de la Banque centrale: Un rapport de la Cour des comptes de Moscou, commandé par la Douma, critique sévèrement la gestion des filiales étrangères de la Banque centrale de Russie. Cinq filiales sont épinglées, dont la Banque commerciale pour l'Europe du Nord, à Paris, maison-mère de Fimaco et chargée d'investir les réserves de la BCR à l'étranger" [The Russian Court of Auditors denounces the opacity of the foreign subsidiaries of the Central Bank: A report by the Moscow Court of Auditors, commissioned by the Duma, severely criticizes the management of the foreign subsidiaries of the Central Bank of Russia. Five subsidiaries are pinned, including the Commercial Bank for Northern Europe, in Paris, parent company of Fimaco and responsible for investing the reserves of the BCR abroad]. Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  18. Fassone, Marc (28 February 2022). "SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIAN INTERESTS: East-West United Bank is in the clear for now". Delano (delano.lu). Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  19. Strohecker, Karin (25 February 2022). "Explainer: How Western sanctions target Russia". Reuters. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  20. Сотник, Андрей (Sotnik, Andrey) (1 April 2003). "Саддаму было у кого учиться: Деньги, пропавшие во время российского дефолта, возможно, найдут на счетах тех же банков, которые обслуживали Саддама Хусейна" [Saddam had someone to learn from: Money missing during the Russian default may be found in the accounts of the same banks that served Saddam Hussein]. Московские новости 31 26 (mn.ru) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2 September 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Alternate archive and another alternate archive
  21. "Алибегов Томас Иванович" [Tomas Ivanovich Alibegov]. Экономическая Летопись России (Economic Chronicle Russia) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2021.


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