Ilmārs Rimšēvičs

Ilmārs Rimšēvičs (born 30 April 1965) is a Latvian economist who served as the governor of the central Bank of Latvia from 2001 to 2019. In that position, he was also a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank.

Ilmārs Rimšēvičs
Ilmārs Rimšēvičs (2013)
Born	(1965-04-30) 30 April 1965 (age 58) Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Latvian
Alma mater	Riga Technical University
Occupation	Economist
Years active	2001–present

Education

He studied engineering economics at the Riga University of Technology, graduating in 1990. He was a member of the student corporation Lettonia. His studies continued at Clarkson University in New York, completing a master's degree in business administration and management in 1992, whereafter he was appointed deputy governor and chairman of the board of the Bank of Latvia the same year.

Controversies

Rimšēvičs was detained by the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) on 18 February 2018, while officers raided his home in Langstini and offices at the Bank of Latvia.^[1][2] The next day, he was released on bail, which was paid by Andris Kreislers.^[3][4] State Prosecutor's office has charged Rimševičs with accepting a bribe.^[5] In 2013, Rimšēvičs had numerous conversations with Maris Martinsons in a sauna (Latvian: “Taureņu” pirtī) on the outskirts of Riga which were recorded by agents of the KNAB.^[6] Allegedly, the payment was a bribe paid by the shareholders of the Latvian bank Trasta komercbanka (TKB) through Martinsons, because this bank credited Martinsons' formerly owned payday loan firm "4Finance" and this payment facilitated Rimšēvičs in obtaining a property through MM Investments, which was owned by Martinsons son Marcis, in Jurmala at 2 Baznicas Street.^[7][8] The case is pending.

In May 2018, a Latvian intelligence agency stripped Rimšēvičs of his government security clearances over concerns about his numerous travels to Russia.^[6]

Upon the end of this third term at the end of 2019, Rimšēvičs was succeeded as governor by Mārtiņš Kazāks.

References

1. "Latvian central bank governor Rimsevics detained - Prime Minister's office". Reuters. 18 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
2. "Latvian central bank boss detained". BBC. 18 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
3. "Bank boss bailed in Latvia corruption probe". BBC. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
4. [LTV: The security deposit for Rimšēvičs has been paid by businessman Andris Kreislers]. ir (ir.lv) (in Latvian). 21 February 2018. Archived from the original on 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
5. "Latvian central bank governor to be charged with taking bribe". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
6. Meyer, Henry; Eglitis, Aaron; Reznik, Irina (25 September 2018). "The Face of Latvia's Scandal-Ridden Financial System Is Caught in a Corruption Case". BNN Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
7. [Broadcast: The prosecutor's office believes that Rimšēvičs bought property in Jurmala for bribe money]. ir (ir.lv) (in Latvian). 16 June 2019. Archived from the original on 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
8. [Martinsons and Rimšēvičs had met by chance in the notorious Butterfly Bathhouse - just so coincidentally]. jauns.lv (in Latvian). 10 November 2019. Archived from the original on 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.