Prosecutors charge airBaltic official in spare-parts fraud case

Latvian prosecutors have charged an airBaltic official with abuse of office for personal gain, large-scale fraud and money laundering, LSM reported, citing the LETA news agency. The case concerns the resale of airline spare parts at an inflated price.

The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau said the official arranged for a company to buy a landing gear shock absorber and its strut from airBaltic. The official’s own company then bought the parts and sold them to a Lithuanian company for more than 370,000 US dollars. The final price included a markup of 55,360 euros, which the bureau says generated unjustified profit for the official’s company.

The head of another company has also been charged with supporting the airBaltic official’s actions and participating in large-scale money laundering as part of a group acting under a prior agreement. Prosecutors are also seeking to apply coercive measures to the company that benefited from the alleged fraud.

The investigation is ongoing, and prosecutors have not released further details. airBaltic’s head of public and political relations, Augusts Zilberts, previously told LETA that the person was not a current or former member of the airline’s board or supervisory board. The bureau told LETA that the person suspected in the case remains a state official at airBaltic. The bureau opened the case in 2025 and referred it for prosecution in early October.