Internet, Latvia, Legislation

Back in 2009 IT expert Poikans stole from the Latvian State Revenue Service electronic data showing that, despite of the financial and economic crisis in the country, there had been no tightening of belts in the public administration. He leaked this information to the press, using the nickname Neo, but was caught and charged with illegal downloading and disclosure of commercial and personal data.

Today the Riga Regional Court released a short version of the ruling that reverses the decision of the court of first instance and finds Poikans guilty on the charges of stealing trade secrets. The full text of the ruling will be published on January 31, and a procedural appeal can be filed within ten days after that.

During the first hearing of the appellate claim on November 2, 2015, the Riga Regional Court overruled the decision of the court of first instance and acquitted Poikans on the charges of unlawful use of personal data but found him guilty on the charges of stealing trade secrets and gave him 100 hours of community service.

In September 2016 the Latvian Supreme Court today lifted the Riga Regional Court's guilty verdict on the charges of stealing trade secrets and ordered a repeated trial at the appellate court. The Supreme Court upheld the Riga Regional Court's decision in the part where Poikans was acquitted of unlawful use of personal data that had caused significant damage.

According to the charges, in July 2009 Poikans found a security hole in the electronic tax return filing system of the State Revenue Service. Between October 2009 and February 2010 he downloaded over 7 million electronic documents about individuals and legal entities, including a bank, hence the charges about stealing trade secrets.