On Thursday, 18 May, Riga City Latgale Suburb Court gave businessman Viesturs Tamužs and Saeima deputy Atis Zakatistovs, who are accused of fraud, a full acquittal.
The prosecution still has an option to submit a protest to Riga Regional Court. The prosecution noted that first it is necessary to wait for and study the court’s motives. Once all the information has been received and analysed, the decision will be made regarding the protest.
Zakatistovs said when he was detained and «my reputation was being attacked, the interest of the media was far higher than it is today, when I am found not guilty». He says Latvia has a long-standing problem with quality of pre-trial investigations. The politician believes his case should be used «as an example of poorly-done work». According to the Saeima deputy, the Office of the Prosecutor General should look into the quality of work done by prosecutor Māris Urbāns.
The aforementioned prosecutor handed the criminal case involving the two men to the court. In it, they are accused of defrauding EUR 26 620 and attempting to defraud EUR 2 420 from LLC Eco Baltia grupa waste management company.
The criminal case also included a procedure on coercive measures for a legal person.
According to the prosecution, in 2016 Zakatistovs agreed with JSC Eco Baltia council chairman Tamužs on defrauding finances from Eco Baltia subsidiary LLC Eco Baltia grupa to finance Zakatistovs as a member of a political party.
Tamužs then informed the management of Eco Baltia grupa about the need for him to receive consultations from Zakatistovs, informing them in advance that there will be no actual consultations.
According to contracts signed between Eco Baltia grupa and Zakatistovs’ owned Per capita, between June 2016 and May 2017 Zakatistovs was supposed to provide consultations regarding changes in the organisation’s management, as well as topics related to environment, longevity and resource-saving policy.
Although no consultations were provided, Zakatistovs received monthly payments from Eco Baltia for allegedly provided consultations. Tamužs did not inform Eco Baltia grupa’s management that no consultations were received, the prosecution believes.
Eco Baltia grupa, being cheated over consultations and payments for them, transferred a total of EUR 26 620 to the bank account of Per capita, according to investigators.
Eco Baltia grupa did not pay for last receipt for EUR 2 420 because the company’s management grew suspicious about the consultation contracts being used to finance a political party.
The two men were presented with charges in accordance with Part 3 of Section 177 of the Criminal Law – fraud, if it has been committed on a large scale, or it has been committed by an organised group. The applicable punishment is the deprivation of liberty for a period of two years and up to ten years, with or without confiscation of property and with or without probationary supervision for a period of up to three years.
Both of the accused deny guilt. Tamužs added that he is confused what this criminal case is based on.