The Kurzeme District Court in Saldus has acquitted four former board members of state-owned company Latvijas dzelzceļš (LDz), including former CEO Uģis Magonis, who had been charged with abuse of office for personal gain, the LETA news agency reported.
The Prosecutor’s Office told LETA it will request the full judgment and, after reviewing it, decide whether to file an appeal.
The case involved Magonis, Edvīns Bērziņš, Aivars Strakšas and Ēriks Šmuksts. The former officials had been accused of abusing their official positions for financial gain, allegedly causing significant losses to the state amounting to more than 1.5 million euros.
According to the prosecution, the LDz board members facilitated the creation of a new executive body — the Presidents’ Council — transferring to it powers and duties that were already within the competence of the company’s board. This allegedly enabled them to receive additional remuneration for performing duties for which they were already legally compensated.
The prosecution maintained that between teh 1st of January, 2013 and the 19th of August, 2019, the accused, while simultaneously serving on both the board and the Presidents’ Council, unlawfully received additional income for their direct responsibilities.
The state was allegedly caused financial losses totaling 1,553,896 euros.
The criminal proceedings were initiated by the General Prosecutor’s Office in February 2020 and assigned to the Korupcijas novēršanas un apkarošanas birojs (KNAB) for investigation. After the investigation was completed, the case materials were forwarded to the Riga Regional Prosecutor’s Office for prosecution.
The Presidents’ Council operated at LDz for nine years, from September 2010 to October 2019. According to earlier findings by the Valsts kontrole (State Audit Office), the remuneration paid to members of the Council was unjustified, as their duties already fell within the board’s competence, for which board members were duly compensated under applicable regulations.
In a separate case, Magonis is currently convicted of corruption alongside Estonian businessman Oļegs Osinovskis. While both were acquitted at first instance, the prosecution appealed. At the end of 2025, the Riga Regional Court overturned the initial ruling and found both guilty in the bribery case. Magonis was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, while Osinovskis was fined 151,700 euros.
The court also ordered partial confiscation of Magonis’ assets, including a Mercedes-Benz vehicle, more than 800,000 euros in cash and three wristwatches. Additionally, Osinovskis was banned from participating in public procurement procedures organised by the state, municipalities and their companies for three years.
The court further ordered the confiscation of the bribe itself — 499,500 euros — to be transferred to the state budget.
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