Riga's port authority CEO facing trial over abuse of office powers

Leonids Loginovs, CEO of Riga Freeport, or the port authority of Riga, Latvia, and his deputy Aigars Pecaks, are facing trial over abuse of office powers for personal gain, the prosecutor's office for the investigation of financial and economic crimes said Friday.

The two people have been charged with serious abuse of office powers, a criminal offense that carries a prison term of up to eight years, community service, or a fine and a ban on holding certain positions.

The prosecutor's office forwarded the case against Loginovs and Pecaks to Riga City Northern District Court on May 2.

Loginovs is reportedly suspected of misusing the port's funds to pay bonuses to employees and make unlawful donations.

The possible violations include paying bonuses to Riga Freeport employees at a time when the Latvian government had imposed a ban on bonuses for employees of state-owned enterprises, providing over 100,000 euros in financial support to a nautical school in the southwestern Latvian port city of Liepaja and using the port's money to make a donation to Fukushima earthquake victims.

A criminal probe was launched in 2013 after an audit report alleged unlawful activities at Riga Freeport.

In 2013, the Latvian State Audit Office released a report accusing Riga Freeport of misspending over 58 million euros. Still, the Riga City Council whose representatives sit on the Riga Freeport Board, refused to sack Loginovs saying that they had to wait for the law enforcement authorities' findings first. Endit