The Riga City Court today sentenced Russian citizen Viktor Krivoshey to life behind bars for the murder of insolvency lawyer Martins Bunkus. Businessmen Aleksandrs Babenko and Mihails Ulmans, who were convicted of organising the crime, were sentenced to 15 years behind bars.
All three defendants were also sentenced to three subsequent years of probationary supervision. Babenko and Ulmans will have their property confiscated.
The court also ordered the defendants to pay EUR 171,462 in compensation for moral damages caused to the victims of the crime. The deceased lawyer’s father, Ojars Bunkus, and his two brothers, Kaspars and Kristaps Bunkus, will receive EUR 43,000 apiece, while mother Dace Bunkus has been awarded EUR 42,462.
Prosecutor Armins Meisters told journalists after the hearing that his office will examine the lower court ruling to decide on whether it would be appealed. The prosecutor said that the sentences handed down to the two businessmen were less than prosecutors had sought. The court also did not order the confiscation of property, instead seizing most of it pending payment of compensation.
Kristaps Bunkus, a brother of the murdered individual, told the LETA News Agency that the most important thing is that the verdict has now been delivered and the first stage of the process is over. Bunkus added, however, that he is sure that the verdict will be appealed.
The court preserved arrest over four real estate properties owned by Ulmans pending the payment of compensation for damages caused. The court also lifted the previous arrest of 97 real estate properties, shares in 14 companies and nine motor vehicles.
Babenko faces confiscation of property related to the criminal offence – EUR 110,000, which are held by the State Police Financial Administration. Arrest was preserved on three real estate properties and lifted on 66 properties, capital shares in one company and 25 motor vehicles.
The court ruling has not yet taken effect and can be appealed to the Riga Regional Court.
Chief prosecutor Rimants Kuzma had asked the court to sentence Krivoshey to life in prison and three years of probationary supervision. He asked that the two businessmen who organised the murder – Babenko (b. 1961) and Ulmans (b. 1953) – be sentenced to 20 years apiece with three years of probationary supervision and confiscation of property. The prosecutor asked the judge to order the confiscation of the two men’s real estate, motor vehicles and company shares.
According to the Firmas.lv portal, property seized from Babenko in 2022 in accordance with an order from the National Police included capital shares in several companies. A 32.58% stake in Gruodis, for instance, has a face value of EUR 2,428,348. The arrest was aimed at recovering procedural costs, compensation for damages caused to the victim, and possible confiscation of property as an additional punishment. Gruodis owns 62% of the retail firm Mego.
Ulmans owns shares in several companies such as Monald with a face value of EUR 1,467,186. These have also been seized in accordance with police orders.
Ulmans and Babenko were charged with ordering Bunkus’ murder. Ulmans was also accused of abetting the crime.
The alleged hitman was Russian citizen Krivoshey (b 1974). He was also charged and tried for the murder of Bunkus, as well as for unauthorised possession and transport of a firearm and ammunition, and for disclosing information obtained during pre-trial criminal proceedings without authorisation from the investigator or the prosecutor.
The mastermind of the crime, Genadijs Valagins, was not charged, as he died a violent death. He was once convicted in a case involving an influential criminal gang led by Ivans Haritonovs, who was shot to dead in March 2022 in Riga.
Another person, Arkadijs Judins, was acquitted of involvement in Bunkus’ murder.
The organisers of the crime were offered EUR 100,000, and the hitman was promised EUR 200,000. More than 100,000 were not paid to the killer.
Bunkus was shot on the morning of May 30, 2018, as he drove past the Forest Cemetery in Riga. Soon after the murder, a car with fake licence plates was found burnt up near the scene of the crime.
Source: BNS
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