Bribery case against Bank of Latvia governor longer due to testifying

The criminal case against Bank of Latvia Governor Ilmārs Rimšēvičs, who is suspected of accepting a bribe, will take longer than expected as he has begun testifying, according to what Latvian Prosecutor-General Ēriks Kalnmeiers said to LTV news programme Rīta Panorāma.

In an interview on Tuesday, February 5, Kalnmeiers recalled that prosecutor Viorika Jirgena, who is monitoring the criminal cases, had planned to transfer the case to court in 2018.
 

However, the forecast had been made at a time, when none of the suspects, also businessman Māris Martinsons, testified. Later on, both suspects had begun giving evidence, thus providing new information that takes time to be verified.
 

The Prosecutor-General was unwilling to give any new time limit as to when the case would reach court.
 

In the summer of 2018, based on a criminal investigation conducted by the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau, Latvian prosecutors charged the central bank Governor with accepting a bribe and the entrepreneur with supporting bribery punishable with a prison term of three to 11 years.

BNN/LETA

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