airBaltic official charged with abuse of office and fraud

RIGA - An official of Latvia's national airline airBaltic has been charged with abuse of official position for personal gain, large-scale fraud, and large-scale money laundering by a group of individuals acting according to a prior agreement, LETA was told at the Prosecutor’s Office.

Charges have also been filed against the head of another company for aiding and abetting the actions of the airBaltic official and for large-scale money laundering by a group of individuals acting according to a prior agreement.

Furthermore, as part of the criminal proceedings, a process is underway to apply a coercive measure against a legal entity, the company that benefited from the fraud scheme.

Given that the investigation is still ongoing, the Prosecutor’s Office did not provide further details regarding the case.

As previously reported, the criminal prosecution against the airBaltic official was initiated by the Corruption Prevention Bureau (KNAB). KNAB opened the case in 2025.

Augusts Zilberts, head of public and political relations at airBaltic, told LETA earlier that the suspect is neither a current nor a former member of the company’s executive or supervisory board. He also stated that members of airBaltic’s executive and supervisory boards hold the status of public officials and are required to submit a public official’s declaration. KNAB, however, confirmed that the suspect is still a public official at airBaltic.

Evidence obtained during the criminal probe suggests that the airBaltic manager may have arranged for the sale of company assets - spare parts - at a markup of more than EUR 55,000, as a result of which a company associated with him made an unjustified profit.

The investigation revealed that the manager, who is responsible for the distribution of aviation spare parts at the company, organized transactions with the assistance of an individual and involving three legal entities to derive an unjustified financial benefit from the sale of airBaltic assets and subsequently launder the illegal proceeds.

The airBaltic manager was reportedly aware of a Lithuanian company’s desire to purchase a landing gear shock absorber and its strut owned by airBaltic. The manager agreed with another company on the initial purchase of these spare parts from airBaltic. The company in question purchased them.

Immediately afterward, a company owned by the manager repurchased the spare parts and resold them to the end buyer, the Lithuanian company, for USD 370,000. The final sale price included a markup of EUR 55,360, which, according to KNAB, generated an unjustified profit for the company linked to the official.

The investigation also reportedly uncovered evidence that a portion of the unjustly obtained funds was transferred to an intermediary company as well as to the private bank accounts of the airBaltic manager and a private individual in the form of dividends.

This allegedly concealed the criminal origin of these funds and created the appearance of their legitimate origin. Information available to KNAB indicates that the individuals subsequently used the obtained funds to pay for their studies and to build a house.

KNAB has charged the individual with abuse of official position, fraud, and aiding and abetting the laundering of criminally obtained funds.

In addition, KNAB has urged the Prosecutor’s Office to continue the process of applying coercive measures, initiated during the pretrial investigation, against the legal entity on whose behalf the airBaltic manager committed the criminal offenses.

On September 30, KNAB forwarded the case to the Prosecutor’s Office.