A group of migrants was allegedly taken away from the Latvian-Belarusian borderline by Latvian authorities last week and dropped off in the territory of Belarus later, according to Latvian Television's investigative broadcast De Facto, which aired August 29.
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If the parties elected to Ventspils City Council act as they promise, then Ventspils Mayor Aivars Lembergs, currently imprisoned, will lack the votes to become the Mayor for the eighth time. However, another person of his party Latvijai un Ventspilij could be candidate for the post, Latvian Television's broadcast De Facto reported June 13.
The closure of several online investment platforms in the Baltics a year ago continues to cast a dark shadow over the fintech industry. According to LTV's program "De Facto" aired April 18, the Latvian-based platform “Grupeer” still has not managed to return tens of millions of euros to foreign investors.
The aviation industry was one of the hardest hit in Covid-19 crisis, including the Latvian national airline airBaltic. Ministry of Transport estimates that the transport industry received EUR 500 million in aid last year and half of that went to airBaltic, Latvian Television's broadcast De Facto reported February 21.
More than two months have passed since the Latvian State issued a court order to take over the possession of the arrested property in the criminal case of Ventspils Mayor Aivars Lembergs. But the lawyer from Switzerland, Rudolf Meroni, who has been in charge of it for years, is in no hurry to give it away, Latvian Television investigative broadcast De Facto reported November 1.
Last Monday, trees at the former bicycle track "Marss" were unexpectedly cut despite protests. Latvian Television reported September 6 that authorities involved had said this had nothing to do with politics and Riga City Council elections.
The former management of Meridian Trade Bank could have caused losses to the bank by handing out loans for personal projects, the De facto investigative news show reported April 28. A striking detail is that the employee who was tasked to prevent such cases at the bank is now working at Latvia's finance watchdog, the Financial and Capital Markets Commission (FKTK).
There are delays in returning the deposits of the clients of the folded ABLV bank, as the involved parties have not agreed upon the depth in which to probe account histories of potentially suspect clients, reported LTV's investigative show De Facto. Latvia's PM Krišjānis Kariņš has become involved, saying an agreement must be reached by February 20.
Mārtiņš Bunkus, the insolvency administrator recently murdered in the Latvian capital, was linked to the construction business figure Andris Bojārs through an insolvency process, reported LTV's De Facto June 17. Bojārs went missing late last November after leaving his apartment in central Rīga. Police say the fates of the two may be linked.
In 2017, Latvia's gambling industry posted a €64 million profit. Under a scheme introduced in 2011, people can opt out of being allowed to gamble, with 1,260 applications submitted thus far. Nevertheless, these people who are unable to keep themselves away from gambling are still able to visit Latvia's gambling houses freely, because visitors are seldom asked IDs and the owners face no consequences for letting an opted-out gambler inside, reports LTV's De Facto.
Owner of Norvik Banka, Russian-born British citizen Grigory Guselnikov, has enough evidence to prove allegations against Latvia's central bank governor Ilmārs Rimšēvičs who is being investigated for bribery, Guselnikov told LTV on February 22.
Among European countries, Latvia and the Baltics have the most favorable terrain for defense, says defense expert Phillip Karber, a lecturer at Georgetown University and a consultant at the Latvian Ministry of Defense in an interview to LTV's De Facto.