"That politicians are involved in these possible fraud in transactions cannot be ruled out," Dombrovskis told the press on Wednesday. Photo by the Latvian State Chancellery.
RIGA — Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis said in an interview Wednesday that he suspects politicians, not just the top management may be involved in corruption at the country’s state-owned energy company Latvenergo.
In a morning interview with the television program “900 Seconds,” Dombrovskis said any politicians involved should face full prosecution by the state. Five executives at Latvenergo, including CEO Kārlis Miķelsons were arrested by the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau on June 16 on suspicion of bribery, embezzlement and money laundering. The attorneys of the arrested men have proclaimed their clients’ innocence in statements to the press.
“That politicians are involved in these possible fraud in transactions cannot be ruled out,” Dombrovskis said.
He stressed that the Cabinet of Ministers would not be investigating, leaving that to law enforcement authorities.
“At the present we cannot intervene, nor publicly comment on the progress of the investigation,” Dombrovskis said.
Dombrovskis said that the European Anti-Fraud Office, the European Commission’s anti-corruption unit, is now involved in the investigation, but gave no further details.
This article is free to view. To read Baltic Reports’ subscription-only articles, click here.
