The prosecution office reports having submitted to Riga City Court the criminal case regarding the EUR 30 000 bribe offer to a deputy of Ādaži municipal council in exchange for a favourable vote in elections of a new chairman of the council.
According to LETA, athlete Jānis Višķers is the accused in this criminal case.
According to the prosecution, on the 5th of October 2022 the accused offered EUR 30 000 as a bribe to a deputy of Ādaži municipal council in an attempt to ensure the deputy uses their position and act against their better judgement by voting in favour of a specific candidate in the election of the new chairman.
Additionally, the deputy was promised a new post in the municipal council.
Despite the details listed in the accusation, the prosecution office notes that during the investigation no information was found that would suggest the vote of the new chairman of Ādaži municipal council on the 1st of November 2022 was actually illegally affected. This means there is no reason to doubt the legality of the existing council chairperson.
As previously reported the chairman of Ādaži municipal council was replaced at the end of last year shortly after Saeima elections. Māris Sprindžuks, who was in charge of the municipal council for several years, was elected as Latvia’s Minister of Environment Protection and Regional Development.
He was replaced with Karīna Miķelsone in the post of chairperson of Ādaži municipal council on the 1st of November 2022. Changes to leadership were accompanied by changes to the ruling coalition. Latvian Association of Regions terminated cooperation with their previous partners in favour of Latvian Farmers Union.
According to publicly accessible information, in 2019 Višķers set the second highest result in the half marathon in the history of Latvian athletics. He was Latvia’s champion in 3 000 m and 5 000 m distances. In 2019 he represented Latvia in the World Championships in Athletics Cross Country in Denmark. Information from Firmas.lv indicates that Višķers founded the sport club Tērauds. He and Jānis Razgalis are owners of J&J Build company registered in 2021.
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