Latvian state prosecutor charges Oleg Ossinovski with bribery
The Latvian prosecutor general decided on Thursday to prosecute former state railways CEO Ugis Magonis. Magonis is accused of accepting a bribe in the amount of €499,500. Estonian businessman Oleg Ossinovski likely faces charges for having paid the bribe.
The case involves a transaction in which Latvian state railways subsidiary LDz Ritosa Sastava Serviss bought four old locomotives for several million euros from Ossinovski’s company Skinest.
Ossinovski is accused of having paid the bribe to win the tender.
Although the Prosecutor General’s Office didn’t publish names, Ossinovski’s involvement is highly likely. Ugis Magonis’ lawyer, Janis Rozenbergs, said on Jun. 28 that the private individual to be charged in the case was likely to be Oleg Ossinovski, and Latvian news agency LETA stated on Friday that it had received information to the effect.
Asked by LETA, Magonis’ lawyer Janis Rozenbergs declined to comment, noting that his client had not yet testified. Ossinovski’s lawyer, Saulvedis Varpins, didn't want to comment on the matter either.
Since the pre-trial investigation was still ongoing, the law enforcement authorities were not giving any more details about the prosecution, LETA reported.
Last week the Latvian Corruption Prevention Bureau (CPB) announced that it had asked the Prosecutor General's Office to prosecute Magonis for accepting a bribe of roughly €500,000. A statement on the CPB's website read that the state official had accepted a bribe in connection with a tender involving Latvian state railways (LDz) subsidiary LDz Ritosa Sastava Serviss (LDz Rolling Stock Maintenance).
The CPB suspects Magonis of having accepted a bribe of roughly €500,000 to see to it that LDz Ritosa Sastava Serviss would purchase four old locomotives for several million euros from Estonian businessman Oleg Ossinovski’s company Skinest.
Ossinovski has denied any corrupt practices in the sale of the locomotives.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn