Guilty bars, clubs and restaurants in Riga named

Finnish tourists in Latvia are still falling victim to credit card fraud. Most commonly, this seems to involve requests to provide a PIN code repeatedly as if the transaction doesn’t initially go through but in fact large amounts of money are being deducted from the tourist’s bank account. Last year, 51 such cases were reported out of a total number of 87 criminal offences against tourists, Diena writes. Finnish tourists have complained to the Latvian State Tourism Development Agency (tourist board) and to their local police force, which has demanded that the Latvian police immediately initiate criminal proceedings against the suspected parties. Yet the Latvian police say there is no one to be accused. In an attempt to resolve the problem, Latvia’s tourist board has written letters to several state institutions and in April the President of Latvia himself demanded an action plan to eliminate such violations. Foxy Lounge, Roxy Club, Lord’s Pub, Puzzie, Mary, DD bar, Saxon, Doll House, Bar Fly, Zephry Bar, Mademoiselle Cigar Club and Nabu Sushi are mentioned as venues where credit card fraud has allegedly occurred.

 

Diena, 2009-05-09