BNN: Prosecutor General’s Office too weak for Lembergs
The Baltic News Network reports in July 26th, 2012 about the situation in Latvia concerning Aivars Lembergs. Obviously BNN reports, that the Prosecutor General in Riga is not strong enough to fight Aivars Lembergs.
The BNN article in English language starts as follows:Under the title "Prosecutor General's Office too weak for Lembergs" BNN reports:
The accused Latvian politician Aivars Lembergs seems to be gradually recovering his control over the Latvian oil business. His moves remain unnoticed and are partly approved by inactions of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Ventspils millionaires Olafs Berkis, Olegs Stepanovs, Igors Skoks and Genadijs Sevcovs have been elected into the AS Ventspils nafta Supervisory Council. They are all believed to have in mind one and the same thought of selling the Latvian oil business. They intend to do it bypassing the state as the potential owner of the seized Lembergs’ shares.
Besides, the persons have carried out a variety of schemes that have brought the state and the company huge losses. Now there is a possibility that national oil business will simply be sold and the money will travel straight into the pockets of Lembergs and Berkis. But the Prosecutor General’s Office seems not to to be concerned.
The enthusiasm from 2007 about the fight against corruption has practically faded and politicians no longer fear possible punishment that much. Lembergs recently gained access to oil companies’ money in cooperation with Berkis, Skoks, Sevcovs and Stepanovs, who had falsified documents and held a number of fake shareholder meetings. This makes it easier to keep bribing politicians and officials who are never tortured by their conscience.
Lembergs also benefits from Berkis’s public relations campaign, where false facts cast shadows over the legitimate management of AS Ventbunkers.
In most cases, when they talk about the true Ventbunkers’ majority shareholder, they choose to miss out on a crucial detail. Although they do mention the Swiss attorney Rudolf Meroni, they never say a word about the national interest of Latvia as a state.
Looking back at the events leading up to the dispute among Lembergs, Berkis and Meroni, it should be noted that back in the summer of 2005 100% of shareholders appointed the Swiss attorney as the Chairman of AS Ventbunkers Supervisory Council. Already back then, a fight broke out between the shareholders Berkis, Stepanovs, Skoks and Sevcovs, who could not find common ground with Lembergs. As a result, Meroni turned out to be the neutral party – later to be appointed as the custodian of the assets seized within the framework of criminal proceedings.
In 2009 it emerged that not only Lembergs had employed schemes to direct money away from Ventbunkers. Also Berkis and his associates had done the same via the two clients of the company – Gunvor and Litasco.
To read the full article please go to BNN-NEWS.COM - or check the Latvian Version at BNN.LV.