Security services raise alarm over Bergi development
Latvian intelligence agencies have issued warnings about a proposed commercial and residential development near Riga backed by Russian businessmen, highlighting persistent security concerns about Russian capital in the Baltic state. The planned construction of a shopping centre and residential buildings in Bergi is being advanced by the Latvian company Bergi Rich, whose ultimate beneficiaries are Russian millionaires Dmitry Korzhev and Dmitry Troitsky. Their business interests include gold mining operations in Georgia and retail networks in Russia, raising questions about the project’s broader implications.
Russian beneficiaries and their business empire
Dmitry Korzhev and Dmitry Troitsky feature on lists of Russia’s wealthiest entrepreneurs, having accumulated capital during the 1990s through their juice production company Multon, later sold to Coca-Cola. The proceeds were invested in the Russian supermarket chain O’Key, banking sector and automotive trade. Since 2012, their company Rich Metals Group has been extracting gold and copper in Georgia. Ukraine initiated sanctions against both businessmen in 2022, viewing their operations as instruments of Russian influence in Georgia, though no formal sanctions were ultimately imposed.
Local concerns and security service intervention
Many Bergi residents expressed unease upon learning that the landowners and developers are Russian citizens. The Latvian State Security Service has urged the Ropazi Regional Council to critically assess the risks of cooperating with entrepreneurs capable of creating threats to national security. The service’s intervention reflects growing apprehension about economic projects with Russian connections, even when they appear as routine property investments.
Declining Russian investment in Latvia
Direct Russian investment in Latvian company share capital has been decreasing for ten consecutive years, according to data from Lursoft. Karlis Liede, an economist at the Bank of Latvia, noted that before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the total balance of Russian investment in Latvia stood at approximately €1.8 billion, but has since shrunk by about one billion euros. This downward trend contrasts with continued attempts by Russian capital to establish footholds in strategic sectors.
Geopolitical implications and security dilemmas
The Bergi development illustrates how Russian capital continues seeking integration routes into the EU’s economic space despite the ongoing war in Ukraine. Such projects formally resemble ordinary real estate investments but, within the current geopolitical context, could create long-term economic and political leverage. For Latvia and the European Union, this represents another signal that Russian business aims to maintain presence across various European sectors, particularly in NATO border states that remain focal points of Moscow’s strategic interest.
