On Wednesday, August 12, representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Judiciary Administration and the Prosecutor General's Office met with representatives of the Embassy of the United States of America Artjoms Uršuļskis and Ameet Kabrawala to discuss cooperation in organizing training for judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials.
A. Kabrawala, a representative of the US Embassy, assessed the measures taken so far so that the Economic Court could start its operation on January 1, 2021. Kabrawala also expressed the support on behalf of the United States for law enforcement cooperation and assistance within the framework of the agreement concluded in September 2019 between Latvia and the United States. In order to ensure the investigation of economic and financial crimes, as well as the functioning of the new Economic Court, the training of judges, investigators, prosecutors and specialists of other institutions provided for in the intergovernmental agreement plays an important role. These activities will also reduce the time spent on pre-trial investigations and trials in complex economic and financial crimes.
It has already been reported that on September 4, 2019, the Minister of Justice Jānis Bordāns signed amendments to the agreement between the Government of the Republic of Latvia and the United States on co-operation in the field of law enforcement. Amendments to the intergovernmental agreement provide for closer co-operation between Latvia and the United States to enhance the capacity of Latvian law enforcement agencies to effectively prevent and combat financial and economic crime, including corruption and money laundering schemes.