Estonia, Financial Services, Latvia, Legislation, Railways, Transport

Macs told the court that he did not know anything about Magonis' possible influence on LDz investment council and council of presidents - two LDz governing bodies that LDz Ritosa Sastava Serviss (LDz Rolling Stock Service), another subsidiary of LDz, should have asked for permission to buy locomotives to offer them to be leased by LDz Cargo and other railroad companies.

Macs explained that LDz Cargo had to buy or lease new diesel locomotives as the ones it was leasing from LDz Ritosa Sastava Serviss were 30 to 35 years old on the average.

According to materials in the case, Daugavpils Locomotive Repair Plant, which is connected to Estonian businessman Oleg Ossinovski, in August 2014 offered LDz Cargo and LDz Ritosa Sastava Serviss seven locomotives to buy or lease.

LDz Cargo was negotiating with LDz Ritosa Sastava Serviss about the lease amount for about six months, and it was eventually reduced from EUR 1,409 to EUR 650 (per day). Macs could not remember though if it was he who made any definite decisions about leasing the locomotives. The decision could have been taken by his then-deputy Vladimirs Grjaznovs, said Macs.

Commenting on LDz Cargo's interest in the next offer, received from Skinest Rail, another company associated with Ossinovski, Macs said that LDz Cargo, which was going through a period of growth at the time, was interested in as many locomotives as possible, however, LDz Ritosa Sastava Serviss' budget was limited, therefore it would not be able to buy more than four locomotives.

When asked if he knew Ossinovski, Macs replied that he had known the Estonian businessman for about ten years. He did not discuss any of the offers received by LDz Cargo with Ossinovski or Magonis. In addition, Magonis had never instructed Macs that LDz Cargo should lease some specific locomotives from one particular company, said Macs.

During the next court hearing on March 26, former LDz Ritosa Sastava Serviss CEO Svetlana Berga, who is now CEO at LDz Cargo, will testify.

According to LETA archive, Macs was the head of LDz Cargo from 2008 to October 2015 when he stepped down. Before that, he worked as deputy state secretary at the Transport Ministry and in several senior positions at LDz.

As reported, the Corruption Prevention Bureau detained Magonis in the summer of 2015. He is suspected of accepting a bribe of EUR 500,000 from Ossinovski in reward for LDz Ritosa Sastava Serviss purchasing four old locomotives for several million euros from Skinest.