Sometimes You Must Lose A Battle to Win the War - Knab Chief

RIGA, March 1 (LETA) - It is clear that sometimes you must lose a battle to win the war, Corruption Prevention Bureau (KNAB) chief Jekabs Straume said, commenting the Court of Justice of the European Union's decision to annul the decision suspending Bank of Latvia president Ilmars Rimsevics from his office.

Straume said that he already had a notion that the EU Court of Justice would make such a ruling, as the prosecutor in charge decided not to submit the necessary evidence to the court.

''I believe this was not a deliberate attempt to lose, but a deliberate attempt to protect the investigation,'' he added.

As reported, Bank of Latvia Governor Ilmars Rimsevics arrived at the central bank on Wednesday morning to resume work as its head after the Court of Justice of the European Union has annulled the decision suspending Bank of Latvia president Ilmars Rimsevics from his office.

This measure was temporarily imposed on Rimsevics in the context of a preliminary criminal investigation concerning acts of bribery and corruption which the person concerned is suspected of committing.

The court said that a prohibition, even a temporary one as in the present case, on a governor of a national central bank performing his duties is a relieving from office.

Rimsevics has maintained before the court that he has not committed any of the offenses of which he is accused and that, like the European Central Bank (ECB), he considers that Latvia has not adduced the slightest evidence of those offenses. The court notes that, during the written procedure before it, Latvia did not provide any prima facie evidence of the accusations of...