KNAB proposes to prosecute former Rezekne mayor Bartasevics and family member

RIGA -  The Corruption Prevention Bureau (KNAB) has asked the prosecutor's office to charge former Rezekne mayor Aleksandrs Bartasevics for disclosing restricted information to a family member and failing to provide full information on a EUR 33,000 loan in his declarations as a public official over a ten-year period.

Evidence obtained by KNAB shows that the former chairman of the Rezekne City Council, motivated by personal reasons and encouraged by a family member, instructed a municipality employee to obtain information from a database, KNAB informed LETA.

The employee passed the restricted information on several real estates to Bartasevics, who disclosed the information to a family member.

The investigation also revealed that Bartasevics had failed to disclose information on the share of a loan of EUR 32,984 granted to a family member in the declarations of a public official from 2014 to 2024.

In view of the above, the KNAB has initiated criminal proceedings against the former Rezekne mayor for disclosure of information which is not a state secret.

KNAB also accuses him of making false statements in a declaration of a public official about property or other income in a large amount. A family member of the official is also charged with inciting the disclosure of undisclosed information.

Meanwhile, a municipal employee had her status changed during the criminal proceedings and participated in the investigation as a witness.

The Public Prosecutor's Office, as the initiator of the proceedings, must now decide on the future course of the criminal proceedings, which were initiated on 20 December 2023.

As reported, in autumn 2023, financial irregularities were detected in the city of Rezekne, which led to the inability to cover financial obligations. In these circumstances, the Environmental Protection and Regional Development Minister Inga Berzina (New Unity) dismissed Bartasevics from the mayor's position.