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After 12 years of legal battles, a Latvian court finally handed down its verdict in the high-profile case against Aivars Lemmebergs, one of the nation’s richest men and a prominent populist politician. He was also a former mayor in Venspils (a port city located in northern Latvia).

On the 22nd of February the Riga Regional Court sentenced Lembergs to prison for five years, confiscation of property , and an amount of EUR20,000 in fines after ruling him guilty on several charges related to money-laundering and bribery as well as acquitting him of other charges in the tangled and lengthy case.

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

Aivars Lembergs Lembergs requested an instant break as the judge was reading his verdict. Aivars Lembergs Lembergs had a brief chat during the break with his son Anrijs. Aivars Lembergs Then, he utilized the remaining time to address journalists.

Aivars Lembergs Lembergs told the journalists that he will appeal the ruling of Riga Regional Court and predicted that the hearing of his appeal could take another 10 years. Lembergs will also appeal his detention the appeal will be considered by the regional court.

The court ordered the taking of Lembergs into custody immediately after reading the judgment, which included the reading of an impressively long list of properties and other assets, as well as holdings of offshore companies in numerous jurisdictions which the court said it would confiscate.

His co-defendants including son Anrijs Lembergs, and business associate Ansis Sormulis, were also found guilty on a number of related charges and each sentenced to two years.

Lembergs was detained in the Riga City Centre District court. On March 14 2007 prosecutors began to press charges of bribery aswell as money laundering against him. These were the first charges to make against him as an accused (investigagations into suspected corruption in Ventpils municipality had started in 2005). A verdict has now been handed down nearly 14 years after the decision was first announced.

The matter has been going through Latvian courts at a alarmingly slow pace for well more than 10 years. In the twelve-year period there were 770 court hearings held in connection to the principal criminal proceedings. Since August 20, 2009 when the Riga Regional Court resumed adjudication of the case until February 11, 2021 a total of 1,483 hearings in court have been scheduled.

Aivars Lembergs Despite being in the midst of trial for allegations of bribery, as well as money laundering on an extensive scale, Lembergs has continued to act as a political kingpin, as well as within the city of Ventspils, where he was the mayor for two decades and as a key influence in the Greens and Farmers Alliance political force which he funds.

Aivars Lembergs The election of his mayor was suspended because the mayor was accused of financial crimes. But he continued his dominance in the city, battling one minister’s attempts for him to be barred from being Ventspils president. He was even a participant in the IMF’s government meetings , and was a part of the selection process for people who would be the Latvian presidency.

Lembergs stated that the decision about Latvia’s participation in the upcoming municipal elections would be taken in his region party For Latvia and Ventspils. However he stated that participation in the election is not his top priority.