Five gold bars worth approximately EUR 100 000 have been arrested in the Rīgas satiksme (RS) procurement case, according to information from LETA.
Latvian Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) announced at the beginning of 2020 that as part of an ongoing criminal case a total of 19 pieces of real estate property, five gold bars worth approximately EUR 100 000, cars, as well as money and securities worth more than EUR 4.4 million.
39 decisions on arresting finances or property were made in criminal processes. Authorities have also arrested finances or property owned abroad. Executing requests for legal assistance from other countries, Latvian police also arrested finances or property owned by four persons.
KNAB did not reveal at the time as part of which case the gold bars were arrested, but it was determined that this property was arrested as part of RS procurement case. Currently it is unknown who owned those gold bars.
If proceedings lead to a conviction, the court may decide on confiscating gold bars in favour of the country.
KNAB investigates the criminal process in relation to three procurements organized by Rīgas satiksme: the 2016 low-floor tram procurement worth EUR 62 597 477, the 2013 trolleybus procurement worth EUR 131 646 135, as well as the 2013 bus procurement worth EUR 75 808 297.
The criminal process investigates bribery of officials and money laundering.
At the beginning of December 2018 Riga City Vidzeme Suburb Court put six out of seven suspects under arrest. These include long-term member of Honour to Serve Riga Aleksandrs Krjačeks, Rīgas satiksme Infrastructure Maintenance and Development Department‘s director Igors Volkinšteins, ex-Rīgas satiksme board chairman Leons Bemhens, tram and trolleybus manufacturer Škoda Transportation official Vladislavs Kozaks, businessman Māris Martinsons and businessman Edgars Teterovskis.
Some of the arrested persons were later released for bail, whereas other suspects were released without a bail. The total bail amount is EUR 870 000.
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As part of the case, searches have been performed at the office of then the Mayor of Riga Nils Ušakovs. At the end of June 2019 Ušakovs was made a suspect, but for other possible illegalities – during a search in his office an item classified as a device of strategic importance was found.
Ušakovs later revealed on his Facebook page the confiscated device was a «home-made recording device» on his shelf. «As far as I’m aware, this is about an album fitted with a camera and a microphone,» explained Ušakovs. He also said he was surprised that such a device was found in his office.
This episode has been separated from the main case.
According to what KNAB said about Rīgas satiksme criminal process in the past, it was initiated in regards to representatives of Czech and Polish companies performing illegal activities in cooperation with officials from Rīgas satiksme and Riga City Council. These people were engaged in money laundering activities. They ensured an influx of money using actual and fictive companies. Bribes were paid to Riga City Council and Rīgas satiksme officials in the three aforementioned procurements.
KNAB also notes that bribes consisted of interests from the total worth of contracts detailed in the criminal process. KNAB investigators continue work to determine the size of bribes. KNAB also refrains from commenting on any statuses applied to Riga City Council officials.
