The Czech National Bank is auditing the activities of Expobank in what’s being described as an unusually thorough investigation. The daily Lidové noviny writes that Expobank has branches in Prague and in Karlovy Vary and that it s specializes in corporate and in private banking, along with cross-border transactions. The paper also writes that the bank suffered a loss in 2017, having been taken over in 2014 by a Russian financeer when it traded as LBBW. Lidové noviny gets involved in speculation over the cause of the central banks’ investigation, repeating common suspicions that it could be connected with suspicions over money laundering. The daily E15 reports that Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš showed interest in controlling the bank through his Hartenburg fund.
