RIGA, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Latvia's Corruption Prevention Bureau has asked the Prosecutor General's Office to prosecute Bank of Latvia Governor Ilmars Rimsevics and businessman Maris Martinsons, public television reported Monday.
In a statement posted on its website, the Corruption Prevention Bureau said that it had initiated prosecution against a Bank of Latvia official and one more individual but their names was not given.
According to the statement, the Bank of Latvia official is facing prosecution for graft and the other individual for aiding and abetting graft.
The statement includes a rather vague infographic suggesting that the case concerns the liquidation of Latvia's Trasta Komercbanka.
Rimsevics is suspected of soliciting and accepting a bribe of at least 100,000 euros (116,000 U.S. dollars), according to reports. Entrepreneur Maris Martinsons is another suspect in the case. Both of them were briefly detained in February as part of a bribery probe conducted by the anti-corruption bureau.
Rimsevics has been consistently denying the accusations and refuses to stand down as head of the Latvian central bank although he has been banned from doing his job. His deputy Zoja Razmusa is currently serving as acting Bank of Latvia head. Rimsevics claims he has become the victim of a coordinated attack of some commercial banks involved in nonresident business.
