After CSDD Data Breach, Former Director Aksenoks Registers Property Separation With Wife
Following the major data leak at Latvia's road traffic safety agency CSDD, former director Aivars Aksenoks and his wife have registered a full separation of marital property, prompting questions about possible attempts to shield assets from liability. Lawyers say the law protects creditors' interests in such cases.
The decision by former CSDD board chairman Aivars Aksenoks and his wife to register a complete separation of marital property has drawn public attention, coming shortly after the major cyberattack on the agency's systems in August. That breach exposed data belonging to roughly 1.2 million individuals and around 200,000 legal entities. Following the incident, CSDD's board and council stepped down, and more than 2,000 people have since approached the agency demanding compensation.
News of the property separation spread on social media, raising the question of whether such a move could shield the former official from future claims related to damages stemming from the data leak. Approached for comment on the matter, Aksenoks declined to respond.
What the lawyer says
The law office of sworn attorney Laurs Klagišs explained that registering a separation of property does not, by itself, release a person from fulfilling obligations. If a debtor enters into such an agreement with a spouse in an attempt to avoid liability, creditors' interests are protected under Article 110, Section 2, and Article 115, Section 3, of the Civil Law. These provisions state that division of marital property or terms of a marriage contract that limit rights already acquired by third parties — including creditors — do not bind those third parties. Creditors may pursue the debtor's share of what had been joint property, as it stood before the contract was signed.
Timing is decisive: this protection applies to creditors whose claims arose before the marriage contract was concluded and registered. If obligations arise only after the contract's registration, the situation may differ.
The office also noted that attempts to transfer assets to relatives, such as through gifts, do not shield debtors from creditors either. Under Civil Law Article 1415, a transaction is invalid if its purpose is to circumvent the law. Article 1927 allows a creditor to seek satisfaction from gifted property if it can be shown the debtor already had debts at the time of the gift and became unable to pay them afterward.
