400,000 euro bail for release of Latvian Railway’s ex-head posted

RIGA - Ugis Magonis, the former head of Latvijas Dzelzcels (LDz, Latvian Railway) who was arrested in August on suspicions of graft, will be released from jail as 400,000 euros bail has been posted as required, court representative Oksna Hvostova told BNS.
The court has received a receipt confirming that the money has reached the Treasury and its copy has also been sent to Riga Central Prison.

Magonis was let out of the prison on Monday afternoon. One of Magonis’ lawyers, Alvis Marga, had come to pick him up and the former head of the railway company headed straight to his lawyer’s car, refusing to answer any questions from the press.
While waiting for Magonis to come out, Marga told the press that the 400,000 euros bail had been paid by Magonis’ wife. The lawyer would not give any detailed comments.

Riga City Vidzeme District Court decided at a closed hearing last Thursday to release Magonis on 400,000 euros bail, which had to be posted within a month.
Magonis’ lawyer Janis Rozenbergs told reporters that the Latvian Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) wanted Magonis to remain in custody, but if the court decided to free him it had to set a one million euro bail for his release.

On Aug. 21, Riga Regional Court ruled to keep the former LDz head in custody. Magonis’ lawyer Marga had previously sought his client’s release on 200,000 euros bail.
Marga said that KNAB might ask for different security measures to be set on Magonis, possibly barring him from leaving the country or prohibiting him from approaching or contacting certain persons.
So far KNAB has not made any comments to BNS on the subject of Magonis’ release.

Magonis is suspected of accepting a bribe worth nearly 500,000 euros in connection with a tender for four diesel locomotives organized by the railway company’s subsidiary, LDZ Ritosa Sastava Serviss, which was won by Estonian businessman Oleg Ossinovski’s company Skinest. On Aug. 6, Magonis was detained close to the Latvian-Estonian border with the money in his car.  

On Aug. 7, LDz shareholders sacked Magonis as the railway company’s head.
Magonis has been serving as LDz CEO since 2005 and was the chairman of the company’s supervisory board from 2003 to 2005.
Latvijas Dzelzcels is a state-owned company, involved in freight transportation by rail and the maintenance of infrastructure.