Aleksandrs Brandavs, the former indirect owner of passenger transport company Rīgas mikroautobusu satiksme (RMS), paid a 73,000 euros fine this autumn after admitting to repeatedly promising bribes to a senior Riga City Council official who may have been the then mayor of Riga, Nils Ušakovs, the Latvian Television (LTV) programme De facto reported.
According to the LETA archive, in spring 2023 the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) proposed bringing charges against former Riga mayor Ušakovs, his then deputy Andris Ameriks (at the time representing the Honor to Serve Riga party), and several other individuals, including Brandavs, for causing approximately 10 million euros in losses to the Riga municipality and its municipal company. KNAB investigators believed that Ušakovs and Ameriks had demanded a substantial bribe from Brandavs.
LTV’s De facto reported that prosecutor Ando Skalbe said Brandavs was prepared to admit promising a bribe to only one official, not two. To achieve a faster and fair resolution of the criminal proceedings, the case was therefore split, separating the part in which Brandavs was willing to plead guilty.
An agreement was reached between Brandavs and prosecutor Skalbe, which was later reviewed and approved by the Economic Affairs Court. The judgment entered into force in October.
According to the agreement and case materials, during a joint meeting in September 2017,
a Riga City Council official holding a responsible position made a proposal to Brandavs.
Under Latvian criminal law, such a status in Riga can apply only to the mayor, vice-mayor, or executive director, De facto noted. The official allegedly offered to arrange amendments to regulations allowing discounted fares for certain passenger categories to also apply to RMS vehicles indirectly owned by Brandavs. These changes would have increased passenger numbers, turnover, and profits for Brandavs’ company.
Aware of this benefit, the Riga City Council official allegedly demanded a bribe equal to 50% of the municipal funding allocated based on the number of passengers using fare discounts. After assessing the economic feasibility, Brandavs confirmed his willingness to pay a bribe, proposing alternatives: 45% via bank transfers or 30% in cash. Ultimately, both sides allegedly agreed on a 30% cash bribe.
The judgment states that, given their knowledge of passenger numbers, Brandavs and the official could foresee that the bribe would amount to at least 19,000 euros per month, according to the programme.
However, it remains unclear whether the promised bribe was ever actually paid,
as no direct evidence was obtained. “We tried to obtain evidence, but unfortunately without success. Therefore, in this case we can speak only of the solicitation and promise of a bribe,” prosecutor Skalbe explained.
Brandavs declined to comment on the judgment via his lawyer Normunds Duļevskis. However, De facto reported that Brandavs’ testimony refers to Ušakovs, who currently continues to enjoy immunity as a European Parliament (EP) member.
Previously, the European Parliament refused to lift the immunity of both Ušakovs and Ameriks. Ušakovs was later re-elected for another term as an MEP, while Ameriks ended his EP career and last year began working as an expert at the Freeport of Riga Authority.
Prosecutor Skalbe indicated that
the separated criminal case involving Ameriks could be referred to court in the near future,
though De facto was unable to reach Ameriks for comment.
Asked to comment on Brandavs’ admission and the allegations against him, Ušakovs said in a written response to De facto that he had acted strictly in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.
“I refrain from commenting on processes whose details and circumstances are unknown to me, but I categorically deny any involvement in any possible unlawful acts,” the former mayor wrote.
Ušakovs also declined to say how he would act if prosecutors again asked the European Parliament to lift his immunity. There is now a new EP composition, a different prosecutor in charge, and a different Prosecutor General, and a Latvian court judgment has established the fact of a bribe offer.
Prosecutor General Armīns Meisters told De facto that he does not rule out another request to the European Parliament, adding that it would not be right to “simply sit and wait for [Ušakovs’] MEP mandate to expire.”
The separated proceedings against Ušakovs are currently suspended.
He is suspected not only of soliciting a bribe but also of abuse of office.
Two additional individuals have been charged with abuse of office in connection with the case: former Rīgas satiksme chairman Leons Bemhens and former acting director of Riga City Council’s Transport Department Emīls Jakrins. Their case has been sent to court this week, with Rīgas satiksme and the Riga municipality participating as injured parties, claiming damages of €10 million.
Bemhens could not be reached, and his lawyer Varis Klotiņš declined to comment. Jakrins denies the charges, calling the case “absurd and incomprehensible” and saying his only role was presenting a council decision he did not make himself.
Prosecutor Skalbe, however, sees a broader role for both defendants, stating that they used their authority to instruct subordinates to prepare and advance amendments favourable to Brandavs’ company.
At the start of next year, prosecutor Skalbe also plans to send to court a case seeking coercive measures against the legal entity in whose interests Brandavs promised the bribe — RMS, which is currently undergoing insolvency proceedings.
According to LETA archives, Brandavs is also charged in several other criminal cases.
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