Anomalies | calibratedcapitalism.eu

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This page documents gaps in the provision of information within the EU Internal Market and democratic setup, as well as gaps in the rationality of the law and statistical models. There are four sections: i) Missing information ii) Statistical anomalies iii) Legal anomalies iv) Laundromats

Missing information

Data gap in the EU's economic consensus: An attempt to retrieve missing information on the bail-out of Parex Banka, write-off of Reverta and the acquisition and resale of Citadele A.S involving the Latvian Privatization Authority and the EBRD

14 Nov 2025 17:49

The document highlighted in blue above contains detailed information on Europe's ESA-95 accounting procedure and adjustments made. The report covers Latvia in 2017, and includes reference to the procedure used for the write-off of 'bad bank' Reverta as well as a sale of Citadele towards the EBRD through an equity-option of 25% plus 1 share, after it was acquired first by the Latvian Privatization Authority. It contains relevant information for subsequent financial policies in the EU. Citadele and Reverta have been established following the bail-out of Parex in 2009. Since the file can no longer be found on Eurostat, it has been attached on the right. (URL:<https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/1015035/8054610/Final-findings-EDP-dialogue-visit-LV-7-9-June-2017.pdf>) Question in this context is what led to the decision for removal.The European Statistics Code of Practice says the following with regard to independence and objectivity of methods for collection and dissemination:

Statistical anomalies

Legal anomalies

Sazan Island Resort; a luxury resort near Vlora, Decision 23 of 30 December 2024 and potential disputes regarding the function(s) of the (Albanian) State

18 Jun 2026 14:48

Recently, there have been discussions and some upheaval in Tirana regarding the proposed construction of a luxury resort. The location of the resort will be Sazan Island, which is a small island located about 7.5 kilometres to the west of a city called Vlora/Vlorë, in the South-West of Albania. The island is known as a place of wildlife, and also has a military base with former nuclear bunkers from the Soviet Era, located near Zvernec. The project called Sazan Island Resort is worth an estimated €1.4 billion. Negotiations for this project have been entered into since at least 2024, and according to Forbes preliminary approval was given by the Albanian State in 2024, led by Prime Minister Edi Rama following discussions with Jared Kushner (President Trump's son-in-law). (https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2026/06/03/why-jared-kushner-and-ivanka-trumps-albanian-resort-plans-are-under-fire/). In fact, according to estate.com.hr, (https://estate.com.hr/estate_property/sazan-island-resort-albania/) where the property has been listed, it has a price of €1350 million, with property Id no. 20621, last updated on 11 April 2026. The project card cites "strong environmental interest and international investor attention" (see below).

Euroclear and European Council versus Pervaya Management Company and Bank of Russia; Who holds the cards? A fight back and forth and Russia's indicated potential use of force in international court proceedings

1 Jun 2026 15:20

Since the Ukraine invasion of February 2022, it is estimated that about $300 billion worth of Russian financial assets have been confiscated worldwide, according to the Polish institute of national affairs (https://pism.pl/publications/prospects-for-the-use-of-frozen-assets-of-the-central-bank-of-russia) as referred to in this report by the European Parliament of September 2025 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2025/775908/EPRS_BRI(2025)775908_EN.pdf), though there is an estimate of as much as €300 billion. Around €180 billion of those are being held at Euroclear in compliance with the EU sanctions on Russia. Yet as of several days ago, Russian courts have contested this decision in a bid to recover these assets. One of the companies who filed a lawsuit at Russia's Ninth Arbitration Court (Moscow) is Pervaya Management Company, formerly registered as Sber Asset Management (according to this article from Russian News Agency https://tass.com/economy/2134135). The amount requested to be paid stood initially at 2.5 billion USD according to the source, and has a been reduced to 448 million USD.

97% Owned; documentary about money supply and fractional reserve banking

17 May 2026 14:32

97% Owned is a British documentary from 2012 produced by Michael Oswald, in which the concept money supply based on the issuance of debt is explained, also called Fractional Reserve Banking. The topic is analysed in the United Kingdom, and sketches a scenario in which this leverage of 97% digital over 3% real economy will shift even further, say 98 versus 2 or 99 versus 1. The most identifiable systemic risk is the accumulation of increasingly unaffordable and likely to default debt.

Impenetrable walls in the Eurosystem: Resecuritisation, Covered Bonds, 17 Black, Malta's Development Bank, and anomalies regarding Latvia's entry into the Eurozone

20 Nov 2025 17:36

Below are two excerpts from my Master thesis which analyses Latvia's entry into the Eurozone; the role of 17 Black connecting Latvia's and Malta's financial sector; Malta's Development Bank, derogations in the legal framework regarding 'resecuritisation' and Covered Bonds. First excerpt is page 51-61 of the thesis and second excerpt is Appendix 6 including several legal documents, among which the Single Resolution Mechanism Regulation (Regulation (EU) no 806/2014), Directive EU 2019/2162 on Covered Bonds and the Securitisation Regulation (Regulation (EU) no 2017/2402.

Laundromats

Black Swan: a retrieved letter addressed to Mario Draghi from 2013 regarding money laundering and Eurosystem risks, and meeting the exiled whistleblower in 2025

17 May 2026 19:11

Last year (early 2025) I had the opportunity to meet someone with first-hand experience in countering Russian-, American-, Azeri- and Cyprus-based money-laundering systems, exiled whistleblower John Christmas. The encounter felt unusual, unreal in fact as you come from different realities. One disclaimer beforehand: I do not know his exact motives, but have referred to him multiple times, meanwhile sticking with my own arguments and legal basis, meaning that his opinions on the institutions from where he discovered fraud do not reflect mine per se.Yet there is a certainty that counts: His case of fleeing into exile after discovering fraud is not stand-alone, but connects to a broader pattern of disruption, and bears at least some connection with Maria Efimova’s whistleblowing at Pilatus Bank (Malta) and Daphne Caruana’s investigation of Egrant. Some of the examples found based on his observations and others concern money-laundering in Latvia at Parex Banka, ABLV, Ukio, leakages at the European Central Bank, potential conflicts of interest in the EU, at the Bank of Cyprus, money-laundering channels from Ukraine, Russia, the US and Azerbaijan. This does not undo the progress of the EU as such but the cases are quite serious. What they reflect constitutes basically everything that is 'illiberal' about the current economic system.