Crime, Financial Services, Latvia, Legislation

Durevskis’ lawyer did not comment on the decision. The court’s decision can be appealed with the Riga Regional Court in ten days.

As reported, the State Police on Thursday detained Trasta Komercbanka liquidator Ilmars Krums and another insolvency process administrator, Maris Spruds, as well as administrator Nauris Durevskis and financier Jorens Raitums.

Andrejs Grisins, head of the Criminal Police Administration, told reporters that four persons had been detained in total, including insolvency administrators. He also said the police could release further information sometime next week.

Durevskis has worked with Spruds in the past, while Raitums made the headlines after he was detained by the Corruption Prevention Bureau when the bureau was investigating a criminal case on unlawful donations to political parties. The other persons detained in the case were then Jurmala Mayor Gatis Truksnis (Greens/Farmers) and millionaire Julijs Krumins.

At the moment, Krums is insolvency administrator at Trasta Komercbanka. TV3 new program Neka Personiga (Nothing Personal) reported last year that during the liquidation process, Krums had spent almost EUR 7 mln on various services, and the bulk of that amount went to Krums himself. Recently the broadcast reported that Krums may have failed to observe a court decision, and the Economic Crime Department had opened a criminal case to investigate this.

The Financial and Capital Market Commission previously turned to Riga Vidzeme Court, asking that Krums be fired as Trasta Komercbanka's insolvency administrator. The court will continue reviewing the matter on June 19.

Spruds has in the past been involved in a number of major insolvency processes that came under media scrutiny for various incongruities. According to magazine Ir, the Justice Ministry's former parliamentary secretary Aigars Lusis (National Alliance) paid EUR 3.2 mln to acquire debt obligations of Peltes Ipasumi, a company that had been declared insolvent in 2011 and where Spruds was the insolvency administrator. Peltes Ipasumi owned a land plot of over 40 hectares in area at Lake Kisezers, and the EUR 3.2 mln had been taken from the bank account of Dzimta Seta, another company where Spruds was the insolvency administrator.