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After 12 years of tense court battles the Latvian court has read its decision in the high-profile trial of Aivars Lembergs, one of the nation’s wealthiest men as well as a popular populist politician, and former mayor of Venspils the port city located in the northwestern region of Latvia.

Lembergs was sentenced in the Riga Regional Court to five years of prison, confiscation and a fine of more than of EUR20,000 for a series of charges to which he admitted guilt to.

Lembergs who is also the head of For Latvian Ventspils has compared Lembergssentencing case to that of Aleksey Navalny, a Russian opposition activist.

Lembergs requested an instant break when the judge was reading his verdict. Lembergs had a short conversation during that break with his son Anrijs. He used the rest time to address journalists.

Aivars Lembergs Lembergs informed the media that he would appeal against the decision of Riga Regional Court and predicted that the process of hearing the appeal will be delayed for another decade. Lembergs stated that he was determined to appeal against his arrest even though the appeal is scheduled to be heard in the same court.

After the judgment’s reading, the court ruled to immediately take Lembergs into custody.

His co-defendants, Anrijs and Ansis Lembergs were also found guilty of various linked accusations. Aivars Lembergs They were each sentenced to two years in prison.

Aivars Lembergs On the 14th of March 2007, there was a furore in the media when, encased in handcuffs, Lembergs was taken to the Riga City Centre District Court, as prosecutors made their first attempts to bring charges of bribery and money laundering in a large amount against Lembergs as an individual (investigations into linked suspicions of corruption within the Ventpils municipality had started in 2005). Aivars Lembergs The verdict was handed down more than 14 years after the incident.

The case has been going through Latvian law for more than a decade at a very slow speed. Aivars Lembergs In total 770 court proceedings have taken place in connection with the principal criminal proceedings for the past 12 years. From August 20th, 2009, the date that the Riga Regional Court resumed adjudication of the case until February 11, 2021, 1483 hearings in court have been scheduled.

Despite being accused of bribery and laundering on a massive scale Lembergs has remained an influential politician both in Ventspils (where the mayor was mayor for 20 years) and within the Greens and Farmers Alliance, which he funds.

While his mayorship was suspended due to financial fraud however, he maintained his authority in the city. He rejected a minister’s attempt to prevent him from acting in the role of Ventspils mayor. He even took part in the International Monetary Fund’s government meetings , and was a part of the selection process for candidates for the Latvian presidency.

Lembergs stated that Latvians will vote on whether to take part in the next municipal elections. Aivars Lembergs However, it’s not his main concern.