The Saeima Petitions Committee has rejected a request by the opposition National Alliance (NA) for Minister of the Interior Rihards Kozlovskis (JV) to explain the status of billionaire Pjotrs Avens’ citizenship revocation case.
During the committee meeting, MP Edvīns Šnore (NA) remarked: “If the state has investigated [possible violations of the Citizenship Law] and found nothing, that will clearly have a damaging impact on Latvia’s position in this [appeal] court case,” reported LETA.
In its request, the NA noted that Russian oligarch and Latvian citizen Pjotrs Avens is included in the European Union (EU) sanctions list, as he had “actively provided material or financial support to Russian decision-makers responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine, and benefited from them. He also supported actions or policies undermining or threatening Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.”
However, as previously reported, on the 10th of April, 2024, the EU General Court, reviewing the appeal filed by Pjotrs Avens and Mihails Fridmans against the EU sanctions imposed on them on the 28th of February, 2022, ruled that the EU Council’s arguments did not establish that they had supported actions or policies undermining Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence, nor that they had provided material or financial support to Russian officials responsible for the annexation of Crimea. The court also noted that none of the reasons cited in the original sanctions decisions were sufficiently substantiated; therefore,
their inclusion in the sanctions list was unfounded.
During the Petitions Committee meeting, Šnore said that, based on the written response provided by Minister Kozlovskis, it could be concluded that a review had been conducted, nothing was found, and a decision was made not to proceed with the citizenship revocation case.
“That this is in Avens’ interests is clear. Whether it is in the interests of the state, I have my doubts,” Šnore said, noting that Latvia has filed an appeal against the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) judgments that annulled the EU sanctions imposed on Avens.
Latvia is the only EU member state to have filed such an appeal in the Avens and Fridmans cases, as the EU Council, following the recommendation of its Legal Service and the view of most member states, chose not to do so, LETA reported last July.
The NA had asked Kozlovskis whether the review of possible violations of the Citizenship Law by Avens had been completed over the past two years. If not, they asked why the process had taken so long and how much more time was needed for completion.
During the committee meeting,
Kozlovskis did not provide detailed explanations,
reiterating the statements of Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (JV) and President Edgars Rinkēvičs, who have both said that the citizenship revocation process is administrative, not political, and is defined by law.
The minister said he could not confirm whether the review had been completed, but added that if it had been finished and evidence had been found justifying citizenship revocation under the Citizenship Law amendments, the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) would have already made a decision to revoke Avens’ citizenship.
He stressed that the PMLP does not conduct investigations itself, as such reviews fall within the competence of national security agencies. Kozlovskis also stated that he could not comment on the State Security Service (SAB) statements regarding the existence or non-existence of such checks.
Amendments to the Citizenship Law, adopted in April 2022, provide that Latvian citizenship may be revoked from a person who has provided significant financial, material, propagandistic, technological, or other forms of support to states or persons who have committed actions — including genocide, crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, or war crimes — that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty, independence, or constitutional order of democratic states. Citizenship may also be revoked if a person has personally participated in such activities.
Citizenship can only be revoked if the person does not become stateless, meaning it applies only to dual citizens, and not to individuals whose only citizenship is Latvian, even if they are supporters of war crimes.
Pjotrs Avens obtained Latvian citizenship in 2016, and since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he and his family have been residing in Latvia.
Read also: Experts explain how it is possible to be removed from sanctions lists — and whether it could apply to Pjotrs Avens