Latvian ECB official won’t resign, rejects bribes report
LONDON — Latvia’s official on the European Central Bank’s top policymaking council rejected calls to resign Tuesday amid suspicions of bribery and an Associated Press report on allegations of extortion and connections to money laundering.
Ilmars Rimsevics, who was detained Saturday and released on bail two days later without charge, was defiant, dismissing the allegations against him as a smear campaign by commercial banks.
“I made a decision not to step down because I am not guilty,” he said. The prime minister earlier said, however, that Rimsevics would be prevented from performing his duties.
The country’s anti-corruption agency has started a probe into suspected bribery. And the AP has reported that the chairman of local bank Norvik, Grigory Guselnikov, says Rimsevics had asked for bribes since 2015.