Notes

Aivars Lembergs is jailed in Latvia for five years because of financial crimes.
After 12 years of tense court battles, a Latvian judge has delivered his verdict in the high profile trial of Aivars Leonbergs. Aivars was one of the richest men in Latvia and an influential populist political persona. He also served as mayor of Venspils the port city in the northwest of Latvia.

Lembergs was sentenced by Riga Regional Court to five-year imprison, confiscation of property, and a fine of up to EUR20,000 on the 22nd of February. Lembergs was found guilty of a range of charges, including money-laundering. But, he was acquitted of the other charges in the long-running complex case.

Lembergs who is also the president of For Latvian Ventspils has made a comparison of Lembergs’ sentencing case to that of Aleksey Navalny, a Russian opposition activist.

As the judge was reading the verdict in the case, Lembergs pleaded for a short break, which was granted to him. Lembergs had a quick conversation with his son Anrijs after which he used the rest of the break to make comments to journalists.

Lembergs said to the reporters that they are appealing the Riga Regional Court ruling and said that the trial will take another 10 years. Aivars Lembergs Lembergs also plans to appeal his detention, even though this appeal will be considered by the same regional court.

After reading the judgment and then reading it, the court made the decision that the Lembergs' would be placed in custody.

Aivars Lembergs His co-defendants Anrijs Lemmebergs and his son, as well as a business associates were also indicted and sentenced to two years in prison each.

On March 14, 2007 there was a media furore after being handcuffed and imprisoned, Lembergs was taken to the Riga City Centre District Court, as prosecutors made their first steps to file charges of bribery and money laundering in a large scale against Lembergs as an individual (investigations into the alleged corruption in Ventpils municipality began in 2005). Nearly 14 years on, a decision has been reached.

Aivars Lembergs The case has been moving through Latvian courts at an alarmingly slow pace for over 10 years. In the last 12 years, 770 court trials were held in connection with the main criminal cases. There were 1,483 court proceedings in the time since the Riga Regional Court took over adjudication of the case in the month of August, 2009. They continue to hold court hearings up to February 11, 20 and 2021.

Aivars Lembergs While he is being tried on charges of money laundering and corruption of large sums, Lembergs has maintained his position as a politic force in Ventspils. In the last two decades, he was the mayor.

The mayor's election was rescinded when he was indicted for financial crimes , but he continued to exercise the most authority in the city, batting away attempts by one minister to prevent him acting as Ventspils mayor without a issue. He was a participant in meetings of the government along with the International Monetary Fund while indicted and helped select the candidates to run for Latvian presidency.

Lembergs said that Latvia's municipal elections are pending and that the final decision about participation will be taken by the regional party For Latvia & Ventspils. Aivars Lembergs But, he stated that his participation in the elections is not his main goal.
Here's my website: https://rus.ventasbalss.lv/zinas/politika/42964-ajvars-lembergs-posle-vyhoda-iz-tyurmy-prodolzhit-byt-deputatom-i-rukovodit-partiej