Mihails Ulmans, former owner of LPB Bank in Latvia, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for orchestrating the murder of Mārtiņš Bunkus, a lawyer and insolvency specialist who suspected LPB Bank of potential money laundering. Bunkus had alerted regulators in 2016, raising concerns about financial misconduct possibly tied to the bank, in which Ulmans held a 49% ownership stake at the time.
On May 30, 2018, Bunkus was gunned down in broad daylight while driving through Riga. Attackers fired seven rounds from a Kalashnikov rifle at his vehicle, concealed behind a tent rigged to a trailer. This fatal ambush came two years after Bunkus survived an initial assassination attempt, thwarted when the attacker’s gun malfunctioned.
Prosecutors alleged that Ulmans and his associate, Aleksandrs Babenko, offered €300,000 to have Bunkus killed. Babenko also received a 15-year sentence, while Viktor Krivoshey, the shooter hired to carry out the killing for €70,000, was sentenced to life imprisonment. All three sentences remain subject to appeal.
Before the trial, both Ulmans and LPB Bank denied any involvement in the accusations. Following the bank’s sale and rebranding as Magnetiq Bank in December 2023, LPB issued a statement asserting that no specific cases of money laundering had been confirmed.
In a statement to the Financial Times, Bunkus’ brother, Kristaps, commented on the conviction of Ulmans and Babenko, stating they were found guilty of “ordering my brother’s murder.” He said, “The court determined they hired a killer to silence him — all because Mārtiņš exercised his professional duties with dedication.” Kristaps added, “Given the circumstances, 15 years hardly feels sufficient.”
By fLEXI tEAM
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