The Riga Regional Court has upheld the first-instance conviction of businessman Igors Trubko for offering a bribe of 2.1 million euros to Riga City Council councillor Mārtiņš Kossovičs (Progressives), the court announced on Monday, as reported by Latvian Television.
The Economic Affairs Court (ELT) found Trubko, chairman of the board of AS “Rīgas namu apsaimniekotājs”, guilty of offering a bribe of 2.1 million euros to Kossovičs and, in 2023, sentenced him to a custodial sentence of four years and six months.
The court of first instance also imposed a five-year ban on Trubko engaging in any form of commercial activity and fined ‘Rīgas namu apsaimniekotājs’ 124,000 euros.
The court also decided to leave the preventive measures imposed on Trubko – the requirement to report any change of residence and a ban on leaving the country – unchanged until the date the judgment comes into force.
The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) had obtained evidence of a bribe being offered so that the company represented by the businessman would win the concession tender and take over part of the housing stock managed by the municipal property management company “Rīgas namu pārvaldnieks” (RNP). The businessman is said to have indicated to Kossovičs what terms in the concession tender regulations would be favourable to “Rīgas namu pārvaldnieks”.
Trubko does not admit guilt, and his lawyer has promised to appeal the verdict.
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