The Prosecutor’s Office may take over the criminal proceedings from the Korupcijas novēršanas un apkarošanas birojs (KNAB) regarding the implementation of the Rail Baltica railway project.
The Prosecutor’s Office stated that the supervising prosecutor of the Investigation Prosecutor’s Office for Offences in the Service of State Institutions — under whose supervision the criminal case currently falls — has received a proposal to assess whether, given the complexity and scope of the case, it should be transferred to the Prosecutor General’s Office, specifically to the newly established State Security Protection Department.
Until a decision is made, the current prosecutor will continue working on the criminal proceedings.
As previously reported, in December 2024, upon concluding an internal review, the Ģenerālprokuratūra (Prosecutor General’s Office) initiated criminal proceedings regarding possible unlawful actions by officials responsible for implementing the Rail Baltica project.
Under a decision by then Prosecutor General Juris Stukāns on determining institutional jurisdiction, the case was assigned to KNAB for investigation.
The criminal proceedings were initiated on suspicion that state officials responsible for implementing the Rail Baltica project may have caused significant losses to the state budget in connection with the construction of Rail Baltica infrastructure facilities.
At the beginning of 2025,
Stukāns stated on Latvian Television that the actions of politicians were also being assessed in the case.
The proceedings were initiated under the section of the Criminal Law concerning criminal offences committed in the service of state institutions.
The Rail Baltica project is made for the construction of a European standard-gauge railway line from Tallinn to the Lithuanian–Polish border, enabling the Baltic States to be connected by rail to the wider European railway network.
The project plans to build a new 870-kilometre-long European-gauge (1,435 mm) railway line across the Baltic States, with trains operating at speeds of up to 240 kilometres per hour.
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