Indicted Latvian central banker back at work after EU ruling

A spokesman for Latvia's central bank says the governor, who is also a member of the European Central Bank and is investigated for alleged bribery, has returned to work.

Janis Silakalns said Thursday that Ilmars Rimsevics returned to his office on Wednesday, a day after the EU Court of Justice said he cannot be kept from performing his duties.

Latvian authorities had blocked him while they investigated him on charges of taking bribes from a local bank in exchange for helping it with the financial regulator.

After the EU court ruling, the Latvian prosecution office said Rimsevics, who has denied wrongdoing, still cannot leave the country without permission. That means he cannot attend meetings at ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, where interest rates are set for the 19-country eurozone.