Police detain high-profile insolvency administrators

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The State Police have detained high profile insolvency administrators Ilmārs Krūms and Māris Sprūds, reported LSM's Latvian-language service via LETA.

LETA also reports several police searches have been carried out on June 8.

Later on June 8 State Police confirmed in a press conference that four people, including insolvency administrators were on the day before detained for violations in insolvency proceedings and that searches had been carried out; however the police abstained from revealing other information, citing investigative interests.

LTV reported following the press conference that the other two people detained are insolvency administrator Nauris Durevskis and finance expert Jorens Raitums.

Lawyer Krūms was the insolvency administrator appointed for the liquidation of Trasta Komerbanka, which lost its licence last year for money laundering violations.

Krūms was recommended for the job by Latvia's finance watchdog and the bank's liquidator, the Financial and Capital Market Commission (FKTK).

However in May, FKTK said it was ending its cooperation with the administrator and asked for his removal.

Nekā personīga, an investigative news show on the TV3 channel reported in November 2016 that Krūms had spent close to €7m for outsourcing tasks within the liquidation of Trasta, with Sprūds being awarded the bulk of the contracts. The show reported more recently that Krūms was under investigation for failure to abide to court judgments. 

Sprūds previously made headlines in 2014 when a Latvian court froze the assets of the leading news journal Ir as part of a civil lawsuit by Sprūds. He claimed that he had been libeled in investigative articles probing his professional activities published by the magazine in September 2012.

In Latvia the job of insolvency administrator is renowned for being extremely lucrative.

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