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Latvia bars central bank boss from work amid bribery allegations

Latvia bars central bank boss from work amid bribery allegations

Latvian anti-corruption authorities on Tuesday barred central bank governor Ilmars Rimsevics from carrying out his duties after he refused to resign over allegations that he accepted a 100,000-euro bribe. The eurozone member's longtime governor, who was appointed in 2001 and also sits on the European Central Bank (ECB) governing council, was detained and questioned over the weekend by the Corruption Prevention Bureau (KNAB). KNAB announced Monday that a "senior official" -- reported to be Rimsevics by local media -- was suspected of extorting and receiving a bribe of at least 100,000 euros ($125,000). "The Bank of Latvia official has been banned from engaging in certain activities related to decision-making, control and supervisory functions at the Bank of Latvia, including holding the office of the bank's head," KNAB spokeswoman Laura Dusa told the Baltic News Agency BNS on Tuesday. She added that the governor, who was released on 100,000-euro bail late Monday, is also banned from leaving the country. The announcement came after Rimsevics declared earlier Tuesday that he would not be quitting, despite calls for him to resign from most of the Baltic state's top politicians. "I do understand that this is a very complicated situation, maybe the most complicated situation in my entire life," he told reporters, according to BNS. "I am receiving enormous support from people, people who I know, my friends, my family. For now, I have decided not to resign -- because I am not guilty," he said, adding that he had received death threats. Rimsevics went on to claim his case was linked to the ECB's decision Monday to freeze payments by Latvia's third-largest bank, ABLV, because its finances had deteriorated in the wake of money laundering allegations from Washington. Rimsevics said his detention and the KNAB raid of his residence and offices followed just hours after the central bank rejected the ABLV's request for 1 billion euros in liquidy aid. "The searches began after we made the decision not to grant the loan," he told reporters. A source familiar with the ABLV case however told AFP on Monday that there was no connection between the cases.