Ilmars Rimsevics, who led Latvia’s central bank from 2001 through 2019, has received a six-year prison sentence and asset confiscation on corruption charges. This outcome has been reported by major financial outlets, highlighting its significance within Latvia’s recent financial history.
The case has been described as one of the most prominent financial scandals in Latvia in recent years. Rimsevics maintains his innocence and intends to appeal the verdict.
The legal proceedings began in 2018, when the former governor of the national bank was accused of accepting bribes from executives at Trasta komercbanka, a bank that later ceased operations. Investigators allege that the bank’s largest shareholder, Igor Buimister, paid 7.5 thousand euros for Rimsevics to join a fishing trip to Kamchatka, in exchange for guidance on regulatory expectations from Latvia’s financial watchdogs, including those at the Financial and Capital Market Commission. Buimister testified in Rimsevics’ defense and was not charged in connection with the case.
In 2018, photographs emerged showing Rimsevics in Kamchatka in the company of Dmitry Pilshchikov, a prominent figure associated with the Russian Research Institute of Information Technologies. The institute has faced sanctions in the United States. Rimsevics later said that he had visited Kamchatka on two occasions and that he did not know Pilshchikov personally.
According to reports from the Associated Press, the photograph sparked controversy due to Rimsevics’ access to sensitive information related to NATO and the European Union, including military plans, intelligence assessments, and the state of critical infrastructure.
Earlier coverage noted that after a major money-laundering scandal, several Latvian banks announced measures that restricted services to Russian clients. The changes affected both sanctioned entities and ordinary businesspeople, with some Russians withdrawing from the Latvian real estate market as a consequence.
In related developments, there were discussions about sanctions data accessibility and the balance between transparency and regulatory confidentiality, touching on how non-bank institutions handle sanction-sensitive information.