Link: https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2021-11/cp210214en.pdf

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Court of Justice of the European Union

PRESS RELEASE No 214/21

Luxembourg, 30 November 2021

Judgment in Case C-3/20 LR Ģenerālprokuratūra

Where a criminal authority finds that the conduct investigated by it of a governor of a central bank of a Member State was manifestly not committed by that governor in his or her official capacity, proceedings against him or her may be continued since immunity from legal proceedings does not apply

Acts of fraud, corruption or money laundering are thus not carried out by such a governor in his or her official capacity

In June 2018, the Latvian Public Prosecutor charged the Governor of the Central Bank of Latvia (‘AB’) for various offences of corruption before the Rīgas rajona tiesa (Riga District Court, Latvia). Specifically, AB is accused of having accepted two bribes in connection with a procedure relating to prudential supervision of a Latvian bank and for having laundered the money from one of those bribes.

As Governor of the Central Bank of Latvia, AB, whose last term of office as governor ended in December 2019, was also a member of the General Council and the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB). 

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