LUXEMBOURG (AP) — The European Union’s top court has annulled Latvia’s decision to suspend its chief central banker while he is investigated for alleged bribery.
The EU Court of Justice said Tuesday that Ilmars Rimsevics, the governor of the Bank of Latvia and a member of the European Central Bank’s governing council, cannot be kept from performing his duties.
Latvian authorities had blocked him while they investigated him on charges of taking bribes in a case that has shaken the Baltic country. Rimsevics has denied wrongdoing.
The court sided with Rimsevics and the ECB, which had argued that central bankers should only be suspended when convicted of a crime. It said Latvia did not present enough evidence.
The court’s ruling is not about whether Rimsevics is guilty, but whether his suspension is lawful.
