Police reported Thursday that the Hungarian, born in 1959 and driving a Volvo, now faces a charge of attempting to bribe to a public official, an offense that carries stiff penalties including imprisonment for up to five years, community service, or a hefty fine.
Attitudes to such bribes have changed dramatically in the past decade after changes to the law made it clear that any officer taking a bribe would face instant dismissal and a series of cases after the introduction of the hard-hitting legislation made it clear a blind eye would not be turned to bribery.
However, foreign visitors may still have a misconception that a few euros waved out of the window could relieve them of an inconvenient speeding ticket when in fact it will have the opposite effect.
On Friday police also said that during the first six months of 2014, they seized nearly 50,000 liters of illegal alcohol and nine million cigarettes in contraband from smugglers and illegal producers, the BNS newswire reported Friday.
The illegal trade in excise goods had dropped significantly in the eastern Latvian region of Latgale, police said, though three illegal distilleries were till shut down in the region from January thru June.
A total of 205 criminal probes were launched across Latvia over illegal trade in excise goods, including 145 in Riga. The total was up by 93 on the same period last year.
