Latvian KNAB closes pre-trial investigation of Rīgas satiksme’s procurement case

Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) with permission from a prosecutor of the Anti-Corruption Coordination Division of the Criminal Justice Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office decided on Thursday, the 25th of May, to end the criminal procedure over the possible involvement of two former state officials and multiple companies’ officials in corruption crimes and money laundering, as reported by KNAB.
Initial information suggested that officials of Riga City Council and Riga state city municipality capital company officials, with involvement from a representative of a company related to the capital company, as well as officials from Polish and Czech companies, may have agreed on certain activities to perform bribery and laundering of money acquired through bribery.
During the investigation KNAB acquired and checked information that pointed to private persons’ support of money laundering and provision of financial flow in an effort to hide the true origin of those finances. KNAB employed various analytical, operational, investigative activities and methods during the pre-trial investigation.
KNAB also employed all international cooperation mechanisms to acquire additional information. The law enforcement institution reached out to European Anti-Fraud Office for their experts’ opinions, created a joint investigation group with Czech law enforcers and Polish investigative institutions.
In total, KNAB sent 22 requests for help to 12 countries.

Requested information was one of the most important sources to complete the pre-trial investigation.

Because most foreign institutions were slow to respond, acquisition of evidence was either delayed or completely impossible.
Despite KNAB’s large-scale investigative activities and cooperation mechanisms, it was not possible to acquire sufficient evidence to bring the ones involved in the criminal process to justice.
KNAB commenced the criminal process on the 12th of November 2018 over possible crimes.
The criminal process was classified based on multiple sections of the Criminal Law, including organisation of bribery, organisation of large-scale money laundering, as well as abuse of official power that causes severe consequences.
KNAB notes that information acquired in the pre-trial investigation serves as the basis for four other criminal processes, three of which concluded with requests to commence criminal prosecution.

KNAB has also sent relevant information to the State Police, State Revenue Service, European Public Prosecutor’s Office and European Anti-Fraud Office.

KNAB is grateful to Polish Anti-Corruption Service (CBA), European Anti-Fraud Office, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) and other partner services in Latvia and abroad for their support.
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