Top Latvian banking official accused of seeking cash bribes
LONDON — Latvia’s top banking official explained the “rules of the game” for successful banking in the small European country. His sidekick sat the owner of Norvik bank down, scribbling the sum on a piece of paper: 100,000 euros ($125,000) a month.
An international complaint filed by Latvian bank Norvik alleges that a “Senior Latvian Official” repeatedly sought “to extort monetary bribes” and retaliated against the bank when its owners refused to pay up. The 39-page claim, filed before a World Bank arbitration body, did not name the Latvian official.
That person is Ilmars Rimsevics, Norvik bank officials told The Associated Press.
Rimsevics, the country’s top banking official and a key member of the European Central Bank, was detained Saturday amid swirling accusations of bribery and money laundering schemes in Latvia that reach back to Russia.
He was released on bail yesterday, and said he “rejects everything” about the allegations, Latvian state TV reported. The country’s anticorruption agency said it suspects Rimsevics of “seeking a large-scale bribe” and has started a criminal investigation.
The high-stakes drama unfolded Saturday, when Rimsevics was detained upon arriving for questioning at the office of Latvia’s anticorruption agency, and was interviewed for eight hours into the night, his lawyer told state TV. His office and a property were raided, the channel said.
Rimsevics’ detention is particularly sensitive as he sits on the top policymaking council of the ECB, Europe’s most powerful financial institution, and is privy to the state secrets of Latvia, NATO and the European Union.
Any connections to money laundering would raise concerns of the risk of blackmail from Russia’s secret services or organized crime, and come at a time when Latvian security services warn that Russia is actively trying to obtain state secrets from Latvian state officials to weaken the United States and the European Union.