Latvia: Central bank chief detained by anti-corruption agency, urged to step down

Latvia's Minister of Finance Dana Reizniece-Ozola suggested that the head of the country's central bank lmars Rimsevics should step down after he was detained by the country's anti-corruption agency, speaking from a press conference in Riga on Sunday.

The Head of the Latvian Bank was arrested on Sunday following a police raid of his office and private property.

The country's authorities have not yet clarified the motives behind the detention, however, Reizniece-Ozola said that, "tomorrow Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau will release all relevant information."

She refused to give further comment on the possible connection between Rimsevic's arrest and the claims made by Norvik Banka's major stakeholder Grigory Guselnikov on the Latvian central bank's alleged attempts to extort money.

In addition to being head of the Central Bank since 2001, Ilmars Rimsevics has also been a member of the European Central Bank's Governing Council since 2014, when Latvia entered the Eurozone.

_____________________________

SOT, Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Latvia's Minister of Finance (Latvian): "Given that the governor of the central bank is a symbol for every country, I think it would be sensible in the current situation that Mr. Rimsevics, at least during the inquiry, steps down."

SOT, Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Latvia's Minister of Finance (Latvian): "I cannot answer this question. I do not have either rights nor enough information to do it. Tomorrow the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau will release all relevant information. In the current situation, our [Latvia's ministry of finance] duty is to guaranty the financial stability. That is exactly what we are doing. The Central Bank is functioning and it is the crucial thing for now."

SOT, Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Latvia's Minister of Finance (Latvian): "I really cannot give any comment. There is no information relating to the reasons behind the arrest of Rimsevics neither from the Central Bank's administration nor from the Financial services commission."

_____________________________

Subscribe to our channel! rupt.ly/subscribe

Video ID: 20180218-060
Video on Demand: http://www.ruptly.tv
Contact: cd@ruptly.tv

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Ruptly
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Ruptly