Latvia says ousted Kyrgyz president's son not on its territory

Latvian Prosecutor General's office said last week the Kyrgyz interim authorities requested to arrest Maxim Bakiyev, the former head of the country's agency for development, investment and innovations.

"I can say for sure: if he had been hiding on the Latvian territory he would have already been detained," Murniece told journalists.

She said Latvian law enforcers conducted a massive search for Bakiyev, who has been put on the international wanted list.

Bakiyev's second son was on a visit to the U.S. when opposition forces took power in early April as anti-government protests in several cities turned violent.

Kyrgyz Prosecutor's General's Office suspects Maxim Bakiyev of embezzling millions of dollars of a loan from Russia. According to prosecutors he had placed $35 million of a $300 million loan from Russia into his private bank accounts while in office.

Latvia had to request additional information from Kyrgyzstan, since a package of documents requesting Maxim Bakiyev's arrest was "contradictory and unclear", Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru