On the eighth anniversary of the murder of insolvency administrator Mārtiņš Bunkus, his brother Kristaps Bunkus points to the protracted legal proceedings and systemic problems during the criminal proceedings, Kristaps Bunkus informed the LETA agency.
He stated that the first four years after the murder were spent in the pre-trial investigation, and the next four in the trial, which is still ongoing. Currently, the case is being considered by the Riga Regional Court in the appellate instance.
After Kristaps Bunkus said the lengthy legal process has shed light on wider problems in the justice system, including the inequality between the rights of victims and the accused. He believes that defendants have ample opportunity to use various procedural rights to delay the proceedings.
Kristaps Bunkus also criticizes the translation system provided in criminal proceedings for defendants who do not speak the national language. According to him, the translation of documents and oral translation at court hearings prolongs the consideration of the case, besides, the appeal deadlines are counted only after receiving the full translation of the verdict.
“The longer the process continues, the clearer it is – it is beneficial for Latvian citizens to forget or not know the national language in criminal proceedings, the rights of witnesses and victims are less important than those of the accused, and the accused may try to use abusive methods and means in the process,” said Kristaps Bunkus.
The brother of the deceased believes that his family’s experience during these eight years shows the state’s inability to provide a timely balance between the protection of the rights of the victims and the accused. According to him, the question no longer refers only to the specific case, but also to the operation of the rule of law in situations where the defendants have significant financial and influence resources.
“We will take this road to the end both for the sake of my brother’s memory and also for the sake of society. Because a fair trial is not only needed by us. Everyone needs it,” said Kristaps Bunkus.
Next court hearing Mārtiņa Bunkus in the murder case is scheduled for June 3 at 13, when it is planned to decide on the requests submitted by the defenders.
It has already been reported that when examining the case in the first instance, the Riga city court found Russian citizen Viktoras Krivošej guilty of the murder of Mārtiņas Bunkus and sentenced him to life imprisonment, while businessmen Aleksandrs Babenko and Mihails Ulmans were found guilty of ordering the murder and were sentenced to 15 years in prison.
All defendants were also placed under probation supervision for three years by the trial court.
Also, the court of first instance decided to recover compensation for moral damage in the amount of 171,462 euros from the defendants for the benefit of the victims – in favor of the murdered father Ojārs Bunkus and brothers Kaspars and Kristaps Bunkus, compensation in the amount of 43,000 euros was ordered to be paid each, while the mother of the murdered person Dacei Bunkus must pay 42,462 euros.
The court decided to maintain the seizure imposed on four real estates of Ulman until the compensation for damages and compensation paid by the state, but the previously determined seizure of 97 real estates, 14 capital shares of companies and nine vehicles was canceled.
The court in Babenko confiscated property related to a criminal offense – EUR 110,000, which is kept in the Financial Department of the State Police, and also kept the seizure imposed on three real estates, but the seizure of 66 real estates, one company’s capital share and 25 vehicles was canceled.
Both the prosecutor and the defendants appealed the trial court’s verdict.
Mārtiņš Bunkus was shot on the morning of May 30, 2018, when he drove his car past the Riga Forest Cemetery. Shortly after the murder, a burned-out car with fake license plates was found near the scene.
In the case, Ulmans and Babenko are accused of inciting or ordering the murder, while Ulmans is also accused of supporting the murder. Krivošejs is accused of directly committing the murder. He is also accused of carrying and transporting a firearm and ammunition without a relevant permit and of disclosing information obtained in pre-trial criminal proceedings without the permission of the investigator or prosecutor.
The organizer of the murder has not been charged because he died a violent death. This person was Gennadys Valagins, convicted in the case of the once influential criminal group of Ivan Kharitonov. He was shot in March 2022 in Riga, Pļavnieki, during some other criminal showdown.
On the other hand, the criminal proceedings against one person were terminated, as no support for this crime was found in his activities. This person is Arkadys Yudins, born in 1970.
In the pre-trial criminal proceedings, the circumstances of committing the crime and the persons involved, including their mutual distribution of roles for the implementation of the crime, were clarified. The prosecutor’s office believes that the motive for the crime committed by the defendants was dislike of the administrator while he was performing his professional duties. Mārtiņš Bunkus was the administrator of SIA “Rego Trade”, while Ulmans was a former board member of this company.
The organizer of the murder of Mārtiņa Bunkus was offered 100,000 euros, and the executor – 200,000 euros. More than 100,000 euros were not paid to the performer.
