The prosecution has submitted to the court a criminal case in which the judge of the Riga District Court Inese Silinovich, the judge's assistant, and another person not connected to the judicial system are accused of fraud, reports LETA.
According to the prosecution, as a result of the fraudulent actions of these individuals, 137,371 euros were illegally appropriated from the budget of the Judicial Administration.
All three are accused of fraud committed by a group of individuals by prior agreement, in a large amount. One of the defendants is also charged with intentional forgery of documents granting rights for personal gain and their use, despite being aware of their forgery.
According to the indictment, at the end of 2006, the judge's assistant offered a third party to fictitiously formalize an employment relationship with the court. This person, understanding that they would not perform any duties but that taxes would be paid and a salary would be accrued on their behalf, agreed to the fictitious employment and to transfer all received salary to the judge's assistant.
The judge's assistant repeatedly forged this person's signature to formalize all necessary documents. She also created the appearance of employment—falsifying signatures in appendices to the employment contract, preparing grounds for bonuses and allowances, filling out performance evaluation forms, as well as forging signatures in job descriptions and orders of the Judicial Administration.
Based on this data, time sheets were prepared, which were sent to the Judicial Administration. The responsible person, misled, calculated and transferred the salary, vacation pay, bonuses, and allowances to the specified bank account of the fictitious employee, the funds of which were managed by the judge's assistant.
In 2008, after the change of the court chairman, the new leader, knowing that the specified person was working fictitiously, agreed with the assistant to continue the fraudulent scheme. The court chairman confirmed the fictitious time sheets, proposals for the payment of bonuses and allowances, which were sent to the Judicial Administration.
As a result of these actions, from 2006 to 2023, a total of 137,371.68 euros was illegally obtained from the budget of the Judicial Administration.
During the pre-trial investigation, it was also established that some internal rules of the Judicial Administration regarding the approval of bonus payments to court employees do not comply with the law. This may create a risk of opaque, unjustified, and ineffective, and possibly fraudulent use of public funds. In this regard, the prosecutor sent a protest to the Judicial Administration, demanding the elimination of the identified violations. The Minister of Justice has also been informed of the situation.
The prosecution emphasizes that no person is considered guilty until their guilt is proven in the manner prescribed by law.
As previously reported, on November 13, the Saeima consented to the initiation of criminal proceedings against the judge of the Riga District Court, Inese Silinovich.
According to the law, the judge was suspended from office as she received the status of a person entitled to defense in the criminal process.
Silinovich was appointed as a judge by a decision of the Saeima in April 2002, and in April 2005 she was confirmed in the position of judge of the Riga District Court. In December 2003, she was entrusted with the duties of deputy chairman of the court, and in July 2005 she was appointed to this position. Since October 2008, she has headed the Riga District Court for 15 years.
For her contribution to the development of the judicial system of Latvia, Silinovich was awarded the Honorary Diploma of the Ministry of Justice of the I degree and the "golden" pen, the III degree Honorary Badge for exemplary performance of judicial duties and significant contribution to the development of justice, as well as a letter of thanks from the Ministry of Justice for her participation in judicial reform.
According to Silinovich's declaration for 2024, she continued to work as a judge and earned more than 53,000 euros in salary over the year. She earned several thousand more by renting out property. At the end of 2024, her debt obligations amounted to about 115,000 euros, while she herself had lent out 30,000 euros. She had no savings exceeding 20 minimum salaries.
Silinovich also considered a number of high-profile cases, including one of the cases related to "Latvenergo," as well as a bribery case at the Riga Central Market.
