Crime
In 2022, the Customs Office of the State Revenue Service (VID) identified 3,000 cases of the transfer of goods subject to sanctions across the border, the Deputy Director General of the VID, Director of the Customs Office Raimonds Zukuls, told Latvian Television on January 26.
The State Police's Office for Combating Serious and Serial Crimes prevented the murder of an entrepreneur during a specially prepared operation, by detaining the suspect – an acquaintance of a victim born in 1992. The suspect is in custody, police said January 18.
The Rīga City Court on Tuesday, January 17, continued to review a criminal case in which Saeima deputy Glorija Grevcova (For Stability!) was accused of providing of false information to the Central Election Commission (CVK). She pleads her innocence.
The Competition Council (KP) identified an illegal agreement in the activities of three public transport service providers and applied fines of almost EUR 2 million in total, KP said on January 17.
Since Russia's war in Ukraine, the state security authorities have detained dozens for public support of the aggression. Court sentences are mostly mild in these cases, causing confusion in society and among security experts, Latvian Television reported on January 14.
The Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC) has imposed an obligation on the “Incredit group” to end unfair commercial practices and a fine of EUR 16,000 for disguising consumer advertising as lending advertising to economic operators, the PTAC said January 12.
Officials of the Customs Department of the State Revenue Service (VID) and the State Border Guard, checking freight trains from Belarus, have discovered secret compartments hiding around 6,200 packets of cigarettes (124,000 smokes in total).
The State Police said January 6 they have concluded their investigation into the brutal murder of a woman last May and want two men charged as a result.
On January 3, the State Security Service (VDD) detained a Latvian citizen in relation to the suspected provision of economic resources to a pro-Kremlin propaganda resource subject to European Union sanctions, the Service said January 5.
Latvia's State Security Service (VDD) said January 4 it was investigating suspicions that a Latvian citizen is participating in Russia's war in Ukraine – on the aggressor's side.
The Zemgale District Court has sentenced a man to 14 years in prison for sexual abuse of a child over a prolonged period, the prosecutor's office said January 2.
It has been a month since amendments to the law came into force which toughened up the rules on drunk driving, and already they have had a big impact – not necessarily in terms of fewer drivers caught, but certainly in terms of the number of cars being seized by police.
The Internal Security Bureau (IDB) has asked the Prosecutor's Office for the initiation of criminal proceedings against an official of the State Border Guard regarding the illegal transfer of a person across the Russian–Latvian border and taking a bribe regarding the committing of the offense, the IDB said on December 28.
According to information provided by the State Police, 50 drivers were caught driving while intoxicated during the three-day Christmas holiday period from December 24-26.
Several dozen drivers from Latvia have been jailed in Hungary for bringing illegal immigrants into the EU, reports the Panorama program of Latvian Television December 27.
On the night of December 22, a car of the "Twitterconvoy" initiative that sends vehicles to Ukraine was vandalised, apparently by supporters of Russia's genocidal invasion of Ukraine.
The Group of Socialists and Democrats of the European Parliament has suspended a political adviser of Latvian origin, Eldars Mamedovs, on suspicion of serious violations, reported the French newspaper "Le Point" on December 21.
The State Security Service (VDD) is requesting the prosecution of a Latvian citizen for inciting national hatred and intolerance against Ukrainians and refugees from Ukraine, the VDD said December 19.
Millions of euros from European funds and from Rīga Stradiņš University were invested in a "Nuclear Medical Center" which should have become a state-of-the-art producer of cancer diagnostic preparations. However, the money ran out way quicker than expected, and a criminal case for the deliberate cause of insolvency has been initiated, Latvian Television's broadcast De Facto reported on December 11.
Three persons have been charged with the murder of insolvency administrator Mārtiņš Bunkus, Rīga Court District Prosecutor Aldis Lasmanis said in a press conference on Thursday, December 8.
Latvian President Egils Levits has rejected all of the latest 13 applications for pardon he has received from convicts, the Presidential Chancellery reported December 5.
The State Police has started criminal proceedings for throwing a bottle with a flammable agent in the territory of a private house where a Ukrainian influencer Sofia Stuzhuk lived, LETA reported December 5.
For a week now, driving a car under heavy alcohol intoxication of 1.5 promilles and more has been a criminal offense, instead of an administratively punishable act. Despite that, drunk drivers still sit behind the wheel, and between November 25 when the act came into force, and December 1, police have launched 24 criminal cases, Latvian Radio reported Friday.
The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) detained the President of the Central Election Commission (CVK) Kristīne Bērziņa last week, according to information from LETA on November 29.
On November 28 this year, the State Security Service (VDD) initiated criminal proceedings relating to anti-governmental activities in channels on the Telegram communication application by people calling themselves “Baltic anti-fascists”, the VDD said.
Latvian State Police said November 28 they had completed their investigation of a high-profile murder case and are asking for four people to be charged – three Latvian citizens and one Russian.
On Friday November 26, the Criminal Affairs Department of the Senate left unchanged a verdict by which the long-time Chairman of Jūrmala City Council Gatis Truksnis (Green Party) and his office manager were found guilty of falsifying documents in connection with the business trip. With the entry into force of the judgment, Truksnis loses his mandate as a council member.
In October, the amount of funds defrauded from customers of the four largest Latvian banks was registered at EUR 1.4 million, while the amount of potentially defrauded money prevented last month amounts to €500 000, according to data from the Finance Latvia Association on November 21.
A viewer turned to Latvian Television's broadcast 4. studija with a story about her stolen car, how she herself found it, while the police hid under a pile of paperwork. The viewer and the broadcast, aired November 16, asks: should the victim become a detective?
Former Latvian central bank governor Ilmārs Rimšēvičs was lawfully arested while he was still in the job, according to a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued November 10.
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