Former Bank of Latvia Governor Ilmārs Rimšēvičs, who is accused of bribery-related offences, said in his final statement on Monday that it had still not been proven when, where, how much, how or for what the alleged bribes had been paid.
Rimšēvičs did not manage to complete his three-hour final statement on Monday and will continue it on Friday, the 28th of August, at 10 a.m.
Construction businessman Māris Martinsons, who, like Rimšēvičs, is accused of bribery, will also deliver his final statement.
As previously reported, at the end of 2023 the Riga District Court in Jūrmala sentenced Rimšēvičs to six years in prison and one year of probation supervision. The court also ordered the confiscation of his assets, including several properties in Garkalne Municipality, an apartment in Jūrmala and a property in Ventspils Municipality.
Construction businessman Martinsons was also found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison.
The court also ordered more than one hundred and fifty thousand euros to be recovered from him. His company, MM investīcijas, was subjected to a coercive measure, under which three point one million euros will be recovered from the company.
The court also issued an ancillary ruling requesting that the State Police launch criminal proceedings against former Trasta komercbanka board member Viktors Ziemelis for giving false testimony in court.
Rimšēvičs and Martinsons deny any wrongdoing.
Rimšēvičs and Martinsons were detained by the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) in February 2018. The Prosecutor General’s Office charged Rimšēvičs with accepting bribes and Martinsons with aiding and abetting bribery.
Rimšēvičs is accused of accepting a bribe consisting of a paid leisure trip and money.
He is also accused of laundering proceeds of crime.
Viorika Jirgena, the prosecutor supervising the case, previously said that KNAB opened the case following a complaint filed by two representatives of Trasta komercbanka. Both appear in the case as bribe-givers but were exempted from criminal liability because they voluntarily approached law enforcement authorities with information about the incident. LETA understands that the individuals were former Trasta komercbanka board member Ziemelis and former shareholder Igors Buimisters, who has since died.
Jirgena previously said that in 2010 one of the bank’s shareholders approached Rimšēvičs asking for assistance with matters involving the Financial and Capital Market Commission (FCMC), offering him a paid leisure trip to Kamchatka in return.
In 2012, the same shareholder, together with another person, again approached Rimšēvičs seeking assistance with other matters involving the FCMC. According to the prosecution, Rimšēvičs demanded five hundred thousand euros in payment, to be paid in two instalments – one before and one after the FCMC’s decision.
The prosecutor previously stressed that following the 2010 agreement, Rimšēvičs repeatedly advised the Trasta komercbanka shareholder, thereby attempting to influence FCMC decisions.
Similar consultations were also provided after the 2012 agreement.
Although Rimšēvičs allegedly succeeded in influencing the FCMC to adopt decisions that appeared favourable to Trasta komercbanka, other decisions that were unfavourable to the bank were adopted at the same time.
As one example of the assistance allegedly provided by Rimšēvičs, the prosecutor cited help in preparing responses to questions from the FCMC concerning the bank’s liquidity and non-resident clients.
Jirgena also explained that Rimšēvičs did not fully accomplish what had been requested of him, and therefore only the first instalment – two hundred and fifty thousand euros – was paid.
According to the prosecutor’s account,
Martinsons acted as an intermediary in the alleged offence
and received ten percent of the total bribe. The prosecutor added that the bribe was paid in cash.
The amended charges against both Rimšēvičs and Martinsons also include the laundering of two hundred and fifty thousand euros in proceeds of crime.
The Prosecutor General’s Office believes that Rimšēvičs used the two hundred and fifty thousand euro bribe to purchase real estate in the name of a company, with the then governor of the Bank of Latvia secretly becoming a co-owner of the property.
Proceedings have also been launched against the company with a view to imposing a coercive measure, as the alleged money laundering was carried out in the interests of the legal entity.
The charge relates to a transaction in which MM investīcijas, a company officially owned by Martinsons, purchased a property at 2 Baznīcas Street in Jūrmala.
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