In Latvia, the Anti-Corruption Bureau has detained the Minister of Agriculture — Delfi
Latvia's Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has detained Agriculture Minister Armands Krauze as part of an investigation into illegal support for wood processing companies.
This was reported by the Delfi news portal.
The procedural actions were carried out this morning at the request of the prosecutor’s office, as confirmed by Economy Minister Viktors Valainis.
The detention of the leader of the coalition party “Union of Greens and Farmers” took place against the backdrop of a deep political crisis in the country. Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina simultaneously announced her resignation and Krauze’s immediate dismissal from office.
“I would like to announce that I have dismissed the Minister of Agriculture today—I cannot tolerate even a shadow of suspicion regarding members of the government,” the head of government emphasized during an official statement.
The criminal investigation concerns possible abuses in the civil service and the granting of illegal preferential treatment to forestry companies.
Investigators suspect that officials manipulated prices in long-term contracts of the company “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) to benefit the business.
The prosecutor’s office launched an investigation back in November of last year after detecting signs of criminal activity in decisions regarding support for timber processors.
Preliminary reports indicate that the financial condition of the companies that received aid was not critical.
Latvia issued a note of protest to Russia over drones that entered the country’s territory
The parties “Latvia First,” “National Alliance,” and “United List” called on Andris Spruds to step down following yet another incident involving drones in the country’s airspace.
As a reminder, on May 7, Latvia detected new unidentified drones in its airspace that had flown in from Russian territory; one of them targeted an oil depot in Rēzekne. It has not yet been confirmed whether these were Ukrainian or Russian drones.
The Latvian Prime Minister criticized the warning system following the crash of a drone from Russia.
