RIGA (Reuters) - Latvia's corruption prevention agency has searched the home and office of the central bank's governor, the state broadcaster said on Saturday, while authorities gave little information on the raid.
A spokesman for the Bank of Latvia said a search - about which he gave no details - had taken place on Friday, adding that the governor, Ilmars Rimsevics, had not been detained and that the bank was operating as usual.
"He's not detained at the moment... It is a search, and KNAB (the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau) usually establishes any restrictions on what the person can or cannot do," spokesman Janis Silakalns said.
"I don't have any information at my disposal on whether (any restrictions) have been imposed on (Rimsevics)."
Both the prime minister's office and the finance ministry declined to comment. The European Central Bank, where Rimsevics is a member of the Governing Council, also declined to comment.
The finance ministry will hold a meeting with representatives from the central bank on Monday, a source within the finance ministry told Reuters, but the source could not give any details about the search.
More From This Section
KNAB neither confirmed nor denied the Latvian Television report. The Bureau would not give any further comments until Monday at the earliest, spokeswoman Laura Dusa said.
The Latvian Central Bank is an independent institution and Rimsevics has been its head since 2001.
He has been a member of the ECB's Governing Council since January 2014, when Latvia adopted the euro.
(Reporting by Gederts Gelzis; Writing by Johan Ahlander; Editing by Alison Williams and Hugh Lawson)
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
