The work of Latvian-based companies is threatened by organized crime. Such concerns have been expressed publicly by businessman John Tully, who runs one of Latvia's most prized companies, IT developer MikroTik. According to Tully, the devastating fire that in 2018 completely destroyed MikroTik's warehouse in Riga, was linked to a robbery.
Emergency services received news of the fire about 4 in the morning, but it is likely that the fire had started several hours earlier. A year later the insurance paid EUR 37 million for the damage.
On Friday, May 29, 2020, in a discussion organized by the Council of Foreign Investors, MikroTik Board Chairman John Tully revealed that the warehouse had been robbed before the fire.
Just recently, two weeks ago, another major robbery took place in the warehouse of another IT company, the Elko Group, located in the airport area.
Following the theft, the Elko Group stated that other market participants experienced similar but smaller scale robberies and called on citizens not to purchase possibly stolen computers, processors, video and memory cards.
John Tully linked the case to the MikroTik robbery two years ago.
"There is a question about an organized crime group that attacks Latvian businesses. Elko suffered recently. It is very important that such large looting does not take place," Tully said.
The discussion was also attended by Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš (New Unity), who confirmed the concerns expressed by Tully.
'I am aware of the problem. I had a conversation about it yesterday, and I hope that the police is on the right track, because obviously what is happening is well organized," Kariņš said.
The State Police confirmed to Latvian Television that an investigation was ongoing in both cases but did not reveal whether these were related, nor did they provide any details.
