Pyke Problem

The "Pyke Problem," as it was called by a human information broker, was a crisis involving the Pyke Syndicate that had been faced by the Galactic Republic by around 33 BBY during the Supreme Chancellorship of Finis Valorum. Due to his failure to handle it, the crisis was a major blow to Valorum's administration, which faced a further crises and embarrassments afterward. Such embarrassments included talks between the Naboo and Trade Federation breaking down and when the Hope of Glee Anselm statue—which was set to be gifted to the Anselmi and Nautolan—was stolen around 33 BBY.

Lest Valorum's administration suffer yet another major blow after the Pyke Problem, the Republic grew desperate to recover the artifact and prevent the Anselmi–Nautolan war—the ceasefire talks of which had been overseen by Valorum personally—from re-igniting. In the opinion of the human information broker who called the crisis the "Pyke Problem," Valorum's administration would not be able to survive another blow on that level after the damage it sustained in the Pyke crisis. The human mentioned as such to Jango Fett, a bounty hunter hired by the Republic to recover the statue. In the end, while the statue would be recovered, the revelation that Nautolan ambassador Fiarok had been behind the theft caused the war to reignite, culminating in, indeed, another major public blow to Valorum. Furthermore, the Trade Federation's threat to launch blockades over new Republic taxes damaged Valorum's standing and culminated in the Naboo Crisis of 32 BBY, during which Valorum was removed from power through a Vote of No Confidence. During that crisis, Valorum faced another Pyke Syndicate-involved crisis that forced him to dispatch Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas and his aide Silman on a mission to Oba Diah to negotiate with the Pykes, who were on the verge of beginning an underworld war on the Republic capital of Coruscant.

Text and facts from the “Pyke Problem” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.