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Following 12 years of heated courtroom wrangling after 12 years of heated courtroom wrangling, a Latvian Court has finally handed down its decision on Aivars LEMBERS’ high-profile trial. This man is one of Latvia’s most wealthy men, and is a well-known political figure in the populist camp. He was also the mayor of Venspils in northwestern Latvia.

Lembergs was sentenced five years of imprisonment as well as confiscation of his property and a fine of EUR20,000 by the Riga Regional Court on February 22. He had been convicted on a number of charges related to bribery and money laundering however, the court cleared him of other charges in this long-running and complex case.

Lembergs, who is head of the For Latvia and Ventspils party He has compared his sentencing to that of Russian opposition activist Aleksey Navalny.

Lembergs asked the judge for an interruption while reading the verdict in his case. lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aivars_Lembergs Lembergs had a short conversation during that break with his son Anrijs. He then utilized the remaining time to comment to journalists.

Lembergs told journalists that he was going to appeal the decision of the Riga Regional Court. He also predicted that the decision on his appeal will be at least 10 years. Aivars Lembergs Lembergs is also determined to appeal his detention, even though this appeal will be handled by the same regional court.

http://www.tvnet.lv/term/77273/aivars-lembergs After the judgment’s reading, the court made the decision to take the Lembergs immediately into custody.

His codefendants, Anrijs and Ansis Lembergs, were found guilty on several connected charges. Aivars Lembergs They were each sentenced to two year sentences.

Lembergs was detained in handcuffs at the Riga City Centre district court on March 14 2007. Prosecutors began their first steps against him in the form of charges of bribery, laundering, and conspiracy to extort large amounts of cash against Lembergs as an individual. Aivars Lembergs (Inquiries into the underlying suspicions of corruption within Ventpils municipality began in 2005). Nearly fourteen years later, a verdict is reached.

The case has been moving through Latvian courts at an alarmingly slow pace for more than 10 years. In the past 12 years, there are 770 court hearings related to the principal criminal proceedings. Since August 20, 2009 when Riga Regional Court resumed adjudication from February 11 to 2021, 1 483 court proceedings were held.

Despite being accused of bribery and laundering, Lembergs continues to be the political kingpin in Ventspils (where he served as mayor for 20 years) and within the Greens and Farmers Alliance, which he funds.

Aivars Lembergs His election to mayor was disqualified because the mayor was accused of financial crimes. However, he continued to exercise power in the city, fighting off the efforts of one minister to be stopped from serving as Ventspils president. He was a participant in meetings of the government along with the International Monetary Fund while indicted and assisted in the selection of candidates for Latvian presidency.

Lembergs said that Latvians would vote whether or not to participate in forthcoming municipal elections. But, it’s not his main concern.