Discrepancies emerge in witness testimony in fraud case against judge Siliņeviča
Witnesses testifying in the fraud trial of former judge Inese Siliņeviča gave accounts in court that contradicted their earlier pre-trial statements. The case involves an alleged fraud of over 137,000 euros from the Court Administration's budget.
Riga City Court on Wednesday continued hearing the criminal case against former Riga District Court judge Inese Siliņeviča and two other defendants, accused of fraud connected to the allegedly fictitious employment of archivist Zenta Zvirgzdiņa. The session revealed inconsistencies between witnesses' court testimony and their earlier statements to investigators.
Former personnel staffer Gunta Želve told the court she had repeatedly seen Zvirgzdiņa both in the courthouse and the archive, and had contacted her by phone, but during the pre-trial investigation she had testified the opposite — that she never saw Zvirgzdiņa at work and had only received necessary signatures through then-judicial assistant Diāna Vilhovika.
Another witness, former archive employee Mārīte Krūmiņa, said she had seen Zvirgzdiņa's surname in old work logs. After leaving her job, she said Vilhovika called her, warning of possible litigation and mentioning that Zvirgzdiņa was Vilhovika's mother-in-law.
Siliņeviča's former assistant Elīna Vindule testified that she never personally knew Zvirgzdiņa and had only seen her name in documents. When a new court chairperson took office, Vindule was asked to find out where Zvirgzdiņa worked, but colleagues knew nothing about such an employee.
According to prosecutors, the fraudulent scheme resulted in more than 137,000 euros being fraudulently obtained from the Court Administration's budget between 2006 and 2023. The indictment states Vilhovika first offered Zvirgzdiņa a fictitious employment arrangement in 2006, and that from 2008, when Siliņeviča became court chairperson, the scheme continued with her knowledge and involvement, including approving timesheets and bonus payments.
The Saeima has already authorized criminal prosecution against Siliņeviča, and she has been suspended from her judicial post. She currently works as a judicial assistant at Riga City Court. The next witness hearings are scheduled for September 29.
