ALLEGED CORRUPTION COSTS CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT CHIEF

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 RIGA 000507

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/20/2018
TAGS: PGOV KCOR KJUS PSNR LG
SUBJECT: ALLEGED CORRUPTION COSTS CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT CHIEF
HIS CLEARANCE; JOB?

REF: A. TD314/78341-07 B. TD314/67766-07 C. 07RIGA383

D. RIGA23

Classified By: Ambassador Charles W. Larson Jr. Reason 1.4 (b and d)


1. (S/NF) SUMMARY: Valdimirs Vaskevics, head of the law
enforcement arm of Latvian customs, has been stripped of his
security clearance pursuant to an extensive investigation
into corruption allegations. Technically, he can remain in
his position, but he can't have access to classified
information so, practically, he can no longer function in his
job. This action by the intel service comes after years of
suspicion, a lengthy and involved Anti-Corruption Bureau
(KNAB) investigation, and allegations of extraordinary,
People,s Party-supported corruption. The extent of his
alleged illegal dealings range from bribery and extortion
through abuse of his office, to (in the personal, unconfirmed
view of the intelligence Chief) staging his own attempted
murder. The KNAB has designated him a "person of suspicion,"
but the investigation is still ongoing and they have not yet
forwarded a case to the Prosecutor General. END SUMMARY


2. (C) On August 8, 2008 the press reported that Valdimirs
Vaskevics, the head of the State Revenue Service Custom's
Criminal Board (the law enforcement arm of the customs
agency),lost his security clearance. We confirmed that with
officials at the Constitutional Protection Bureau (SAB). In
late 2007 the SAB downgraded his clearance level from Top
Secret to Secret (to be reviewed every two months) after a
background investigation by the KNAB. At that time his
Customs Board position was redefined so he could keep his
office with the lower level of clearance. Now the SAB has
completely banned Vaskevics from access to state secrets,
and, for all intents and purposes, he can no longer do his
job. Although the Finance Minister has asked the State
Revenue Service to look for candidates for his position,
Vaskevics has not yet been dismissed, as he has been on sick
leave since July 28 and must be physically present to be
fired.


3. (C) According to the press, in July 2008 Dzintars Jakans,
the State Revenue Service Director General and Vaskevics'
boss, ordered an internal probe into Vaskevics' activities.
Jakans ordered a special commission to evaluate the situation
and submit a report. Only based on that information, Jakans
stated, would he consider whether or not to dismiss
Vaskevics. At that time Vaskevics stated to the press that
he would not resign because he liked his work and wanted to
continue what he had started. There has been no recent report
of the commission's work and have been unable to verify
whether it is still functioning.


4. (S/NF) Vaskevics is shrouded in suspicion. The KNAB
states that he was involved in illegal property deals between
2002 and 2007 and the press regularly reports on his alleged
involvement in various corruption schemes, including possibly
narcotics trafficking. Sensitive reporting from post GRPO
last autumn suggested that Vaskevics uses his position to
extract bribes from various people looking to ship
through/into Latvia and that he funnels a large amount of
this money to the People,s Party to support their
activities. In return, they protect him in his job and allow
him to keep some of the money. (ref A and B) There have been
three attempts on Vaskevics' life, and, according to post
GRPO, the most recent (ref. C) was possibly one he, himself,
staged to draw attention away from his illegal activities and
refocus suspicion on others (this is according to
unconfirmed, personal suspicions of the SAB Chief).
Vaskevics' ex-wife, with whom he still shares a home, is also
under investigation for allegedly overcharging the government
for the purchase of some land she sold the GOL for a new
headquarters building for the customs service. According to
Post GRPO information, her brother is reported to be an
active Russian FSB officer.


5. (C) The KNAB confirmed to us in June that they were
getting close to indicting Vaskevics and alleged that when
they notified him that he was a "person of suspicion" in a
criminal case and asked him to go in for an interview, he
fled the country. (Note: The Vaskevics case, as well as the
investigation into the Riga City Council, were cited in the
press as reasons that the coalition moved to dismiss Aleksejs
Loskutovs as head of the KNAB in June.) We subsequently
confirmed with various sources that he left the country
legally to attend his daughter's wedding in Cyprus.


6. (S) The KNAB investigation is ongoing; Vaskevics has never
formally been charged with anything and he has not been
arrested. Earlier this year a KNAB investigator approached
the U.S. Embassy, requesting Consular information on
Vaskevics and his family, which allegedly ties them to the

RIGA 00000507 002 OF 002


passport scandal in January (ref. D) where people who did not
qualify for Latvian passports were being issued them
illegally. (This Consular information was not provided to
the KNAB.) Vaskevics has publicly stated that he has had a
number of meetings with KNAB and the Prosecutor's office at
their request, but the KNAB has forwarded no case information
to the Prosecutor General for their acion.


7. (C) COMMENT: The SAB's action to strip him of his
clearance even in the absence of a formal indictment comes as
a welcome and long-expected effort toward the arrest of
Valdimirs Vaskevics. It is part of the reason we fought
changes to the law proposed last year that would have allowed
other agencies besides SAB to grant clearances. Vaskevics is
a key player in the shadowy network of corrupt activites that
operates in support of political parties in Latvia. His
successful prosecution, along with that of Ventspils Mayor
Aivars Lembergs, would do much to challenge the existing
order here. For exactly that reason, it will be a very tough
task. END COMMENT
LARSON