ECB seeks EU court ruling on Latvian central bank governor

BERLIN – The European Central Bank has asked the EU’s top court to decide whether Latvian authorities breached the law by preventing the head of Latvia’s central bank from doing his job while he is investigated for suspected corruption.

Ilmars Rimsevics sits on the ECB’s policymaking council. The ECB said Friday it is seeking a ruling from the European Court of Justice on “whether Latvian authorities have breached European Union law by imposing certain security measures” on Rimsevics. They prevent him “from holding office at the Latvian central bank and exercising his functions as a member of the ECB’s Governing Council.”

The Frankfurt-based ECB said the referral is not meant to interfere with the criminal investigation by Latvia’s anti-corruption authority, which barred Rimsevics from performing his duties. He denies wrongdoing.