Singer Laima Vaikule has become a shareholder of Rietumu Bank
Baltic media reported that Laima Vaikule, a singer who rose to fame during the Soviet era, has acquired a stake in Rietumu Banka, one of Latvia’s largest private banks.
This was reported by the Telegram channel Monroe Live.
On June 10, 2024, 109,650 Class B shares with a par value of EUR 153,510 were registered in the singer’s name. Her stake in the capital amounts to 0.09088%. A little later—on September 2, 2024—Laima solidified her position in the bank’s associated holding company, Rietumu Holding Prefs, by purchasing a micro-stake of 8,441 shares with a par value of 844 EUR (0.27229% of the holding company’s authorized capital).
“In total, Vaikule has invested approximately 154,000 euros in the banking sector. Both positions consist exclusively of non-voting preferred shares. Leonid Esterkin continues to hold actual control over the bank. Vaikule is merely a silent minority shareholder here, counting on dividends. Incidentally, her longtime partner in the beauty business, Andriy Latkovsky, does not appear at all in these banking schemes,” the report states.
Rietumu Banka is known to be one of Latvia’s largest private banks, founded in 1992 in Riga. The bank specializes primarily in serving large and medium-sized businesses, investment projects, and wealthy private clients. It ranks among the country’s largest banks by assets and is considered Latvia’s largest credit institution with local capital.
The bank’s major shareholders include Latvian businessmen Leonid Esterkin and Arkady Sukharenko, as well as Irish investor Dermot Desmond.
After the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the bank came under scrutiny due to sanctions compliance issues and the historical ties of some of its clients to the post-Soviet space. In response, Rietumu Banka has strengthened its internal client verification procedures, declares full compliance with EU, UN, Latvian, and U.S. sanctions, and regularly publishes recommendations on sanctions compliance for businesses.
As a reminder, Laima Vaikule participated in an advertising campaign for the Ukrainian supermarket chain ATB, where she performed the Ukrainian folk song “Shchedryk” by Mykola Leontovych alongside a Latvian choir. After the video was released, some Ukrainian internet users sharply criticized this collaboration, while others, on the contrary, supported the artist and the initiative.
On July 31, 2022, Latvian singer Laima Vaikule gave a concert during which she took the stage carrying the Ukrainian flag.
