Latvian Central Bank Governor Detained in Corruption Probe

23:59 GMT, 17 February 2018

RIGA (Sputnik) - Ilmars Rimsevics, the governor of Latvia’s Central Bank, is currently held at the Corruption Prevention and Combatting Bureau of Latvia (KNAB), where he has already spent seven hours, amid the ongoing investigation into allegations of corruption, Sputnik correspondent reported on Sunday.

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Rimsevics arrived at KNAB’s office around 18:00 local time on Saturday (16:00 GMT) and has been held at the office for over eight hours since then.

On Friday, the Latvian authorities searched Rimsevics’s office and home, while the governor’s alleged accomplice, businessman Maris Martinsons, was arrested.

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KNAB is looking into allegations that an organized criminal group is operating in Latvia, whose members, using their official positions and political influence, have extorted bribes, in particular from credit institutions, according to the Diena media outlet.

Latvia’s anti-corruption agency launched investigation following media reports that that country’s high-ranking officials extorting bribes from largest shareholder of Norvik Banka, among other reports of alleged corruption in the Latvian financial sector.

Meanwhile, the Latvian National Security Council will discuss the current situation in the banking sector amid the ongoing investigation into the alleged involvement of Latvia’s Central Bank Governor Ilmars Rimsevics in corruption, country’s President Raimonds Vejonis said.

"The issue of situation in the Latvian banking sector will be discussed by the National Security Council next week,” Vejonis wrote on Twitter late on Saturday.