Crime
On June 24, at 8 pm, officers of the Riga Municipal Police (RPP), while patrolling the center of Rīga, received information that young people were burning a Ukrainian flag in the Vērmanes Garden park, the RPP said June 27.
Over the four days of this year's Midsummer holidays from June 23-26, more than 100 drivers were caught by police above the drink-drive limit, Arturs Smilga the head of the Traffic Monitoring and Coordination Bureau of the State Police (VP), told Latvian Radio June 27.
In Latvia, around 11 thousand people use illegal betting or gambling sites on the Internet, and during the year it costs the state millions of euros in unpaid taxes, as reported by Latvian Interactive Gambling Association (LIAB) on June 17.
The man who attacked a young man carrying a Ukrainian flag has been sentenced to 200 hours of community service, the Prosecutor's Office said June 15.
The State Revenue Service (VID) has identified more than 400 cases of attempted infringement of sanctions imposed against Russia and Belarus, said Ieva Jaunzeme, director-general of the VID in an interview with LETA June 15.
A new report published by the international investigative journalism outfit the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) says billions of dollars of potentially illicit funds may have flowed through some of the banks active in the Baltic banking sector.
There was one prisoner per 965 persons in the EU in 2020, or 104 prisoners per 100 000 of population. The prisoner rate had a sharp decline compared to the previous year, probably due to COVID-19 measures, and was in 2020 at its lowest level since the turn of the century, according to Eurostat figures published June 13.
Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Latvia's State Security Service (VDD) has initiated nineteen criminal proceedings and taken over four more criminal proceedings from the State Police (VP) in connection with hate speech, the VDD said June 10.
On Thursday, June 9, the Saeima reaffirmed Jēkabs Straume as head of the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) for a second consecutive five-year term in office.
The Ministry of Education and Science (IZM) has decided to ensure that an exam in one of the natural sciences will have to be taken upon graduating from school, Latvian Television reported on June 8.
Latvia continues to comfortably lead in one set of statistics that it would certainly prefer not to – homicides.
The State Security Service (VDD) has published the English-language version of its annual report for 2021.
The Internal Security Bureau (IDB) said June 3 it has taken over a pre-trial investigation from the State Police (VP) in a criminal case in which police detained an official of the State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) on suspicion of causing a fatal accident while driving under the influence of alcohol.
Riga Eastern Prosecutor's Office has decided to subject immunity specialist Jevgēnijs Ņikiforenko to criminal liability for sexual abuse against his patients, the prosecutor's press secretary said May 31.
Four years after the murder of lawyer and insolvency administrator Mārtiņš Bunkus, the State Police has managed to identify virtually the entire chain of persons involved, and on Tuesday several persons were detained, Latvian Televsion reported May 24.
The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has initiated criminal proceedings involving Ventspils Free Port and former Ventspils Mayor Aivars Lembergs, Latvian Television's broadcast De Facto reported on May 22.
Latvia's State Security Service (VDD) said May 21 it was had launched criminal proceedings in relation to three suspected cases of hate speech and glorification of war crimes, linked to events that took place on May 9 – the day of the controversial and unofficial Soviet 'Victory day' commemorations in Rīga.
In 2021, some 139 000 non-EU citizens were refused entry into the EU at one of its external borders. A quarter of the total number of refusals were recorded in Hungary (34 700; 25 %) and almost one fifth (26 200; 19 %) were recorded in Poland, according to data published May 19 by Eurostat.
On May 12, the State Police identified the retransmission of banned Russian television channels in two public places in Tukums municipality, the police reported on May 20.
A Latvian citizen has been detained in connection with an ongoing investigation into an international fraud case in the United States, the Latvian State Police (VP) said May 19.
On Thursday, May 19, the Saeima supported the government's decision to extend the emergency situation on the Latvian-Belarusian border.
One of the largest Latvian email host and e-services site Inbox.lv is currently fighting the largest hacker attack in its history, according to a May 16 statement by Andris Griķis, chair of the board of the company.
The competition for the selection of the head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FID) has ended, with the incumbent, Ilze Znotina, winning out. That puts her in line for a second term, subject to cabinet and Saeima approval.
A public opinion poll conducted by the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) shows that while the great majority of the public still say they are not willing to pay bribes to officials, businesses are a little less strident on the matter than they were.
In the four months of this year, 793 customs offenses have been detected on the Latvian border. The number of infringements has decreased because of the imposition of sanctions on the border and increased customs control, Latvian Radio reported May 9.
While Latvia's State Police are well known for their regular anti-drunk driving blitzes on the roads, they have now developed amphibious capabilities for their breathalyzers and are reportedly boarding boats amidships to crack down on drunken sailors.
An open copetition for the position of the head of the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has come to an end with the existing head of the anti-graft force given the nod to continue in a second term in office.
Last week, several valuable books were stolen at the Latvian National Library (LNB), said the State Police (VP) on April 28.
On April 26, the Saeima Legal Affairs Commission decided to direct amendments to the Criminal Law for consideration in parliament, with which it is planned to criminalize the responsibility for driving if the blood alcohol concentration found in the breath or blood test exceeds 1.5 promille.
Ukraine has requested the help of Latvian criminal experts who could record and investigate war crimes committed by Russia, Justice Minister Jānis Bordāns told Latvian Television on April 21.
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