ENAP investigates in criminal process former MTB bank manager Svetlana Dzene’s violations

Economic crime fighting administration, or ENAP, has initiated three criminal processes regarding the former MTB Bank manager Svetlana Dzene and her husband Andris Dzenis’ alleged criminal activities with MTB bank’s financial funds. However, now these three cases are combined into one, but the acting personas remain the same. Besides the two, they were also joined by their son in the schemes.

The current bank's management was appointed earlier this year, after several years of Svetlana Dzene’s control of the bank. MTB Bank seeks to be recognized as a victim in the criminal proceedings, due to the losses stemming from Dzeņu activities. MTB Bank has incurred severe financial losses as a result. It appears that Dzene and her husband, among other possible criminal activities, prepared disadvantageous credit agreements and the main receivers of the bank loans were companies related to the Svetlana Dzeņe and her husband.

Previously, the bank has already been punished for a criminal episode by the Financial and Capital Market Commission and paid fine of 889,651 euros. Now the bank's shareholders and management want not only to recover the funds from the perpetrators, but also bring them to justice for misusing the bank’s money.

The bank has also been imposed a fine for having issued loans for Dzeni related companies on particularly advantageous terms. As a matter of fact, Andris Dzenis was chairman of the board in one of them. Specifically, in SIA ‘’Priekules Bioenerģija’’ which chairman of the board was Andris Dzenis and who received a generous credit from the bank on very favorable terms. Notably, over the time the bank even reduced the already exceptionally favorable interest rate to him.

Also involved in the scheme is SIA ‘’Priekules Siltumtīkli", which is an associated company of SIA ‘’Priekules BioEnerģija’’, also related to Dzeņi family. A competent authority managed to find out that in the Svetlana and Andris Dzeņi benefited in the companies.  

An episode in the criminal process also mentions existence of possibly forged documents aiming to defraud the bank of credit resources. The situation revolves around companies SIA ‘’Super Bebris’’ and ‘’Super Bebris property’’ companies. What appears was false documents the loan was requested and received by SIA ‘’Super Bebris property’’, but was immediately transferred to SIA ‘’Super Bebris’’ which owner was former MTB bank board member Ivars Lapins, however the actual procurator was Andris Dzenis.

SIA ‘’Super Bebris property’’ owner and member of the board Oļegs Timofejevs confessed that he signed all contracts under instructions of Andris Dzenis. He claimed he did not know that he was taking a credit loan or that it will be further transferred to a Dzeņu family business. All the mentioned loan amounts are estimated to be in the range of several millions of euros. It is alleged that Dzeņi withdrew from the bank to their own pockets around 10 million euros.