Dismissal of the administrative court appeal against the granting of the release of bank documents in the context of a request for legal assistance from Latvia

Facts

The Prosecutor General's Office of Latvia had initiated pre-trial investigations against [X.] and other accused persons for corruption and other alleged offences. On 10 November 2003, the Latvian authority requested legal assistance from the Swiss authorities. The District Attorney's Office IV for the Canton of Zurich (BAK IV) then ordered criminal proceedings and granted various legal assistance measures in final decisions of 30 November 2004.

In a related final decision of 19 January 2006, the Public Prosecutor's Office I of the Canton of Zurich granted the release of documents from a bank account of the appellant [X.] . [X.] filed an administrative court appeal against this decision with the Federal Supreme Court.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. It stated that the granted legal assistance was based on a formal request for legal assistance and a final decision in the proceedings pursuant to Art. 63 et seq. and 75 et seq. of the Federal Act on International Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (IMAC). The appellant could not claim that the legal assistance went beyond the requests of the…