Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) will prepare a new plan with specific objectives for both KNAB and other state institutions in order to implement anti-corruption policy, as confirmed by the bureau.
2025 will be the second to last year for the implementation of KNAB’s strategy. KNAB intents to implement its activities in accordance with priorities listed in the plan. This includes lowering corruption risks for public procurement and EU-financed projects, as well as ensuring an effective national anti-corruption policy, the bureau noted.
In order to accomplish strategic objectives, KNAB has outlined five priorities for 2025. As this year is the last year of implementation of the existing Corruption Prevention and Combating Action Plan, KNAB will develop a new policy planning document, which will list tasks for both KNAB and other state institutions for the implementation of Latvia’s anti-corruption policy.
The document’s implementation will cover 2026 and 2027. This is in order to coordinate priorities with Latvia’s existing National Development Plan’s term.
This year, the KNAB will conclude the project “Strengthening the Anti-Corruption Framework in Latvia”, implemented jointly with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the European Commission, which, among other things, provides for the development of a methodology for national corruption risk assessment.
In 2025, based on the developed methodology, KNAB will begin to develop a national corruption risk assessment. Such assessment will help KNAB and Latvia to identify and implement anti-corruption measures based on data and risks. The project also provides for the creation of a self-assessment tool that will help state and municipal institutions and capital companies to assess the effectiveness of the developed internal anti-corruption control system.
Also, KNAB and other involved institutions will continue the development of a new draft law on the prevention of conflicts of interest, which was launched last year, in order to make the application of regulatory enactments in this area clearer, more understandable and more effective.
This year, on the 7th of June, municipal elections will be held in Latvia. As one of the institutions supervising pre-election campaigning, the KNAB will pay special attention to the monitoring of pre-election campaigning in order to ensure fair and democratic elections.
KNAB reminds that amendments to the Law on Pre-election Agitation have entered into force, which impose stricter requirements in cases where artificial intelligence systems are used in paid agitation. Namely, such agitation materials must contain a clear and unambiguous indication that the material in question is constructed with artificial intelligence systems. In order to strengthen the knowledge of the parties involved in the agitation, KNAB will also use preventive measures and has already commenced a training cycle on the issues of pre-election agitation last year.
In the field of international cooperation, one of the priorities of the KNAB will be to coordinate and participate in the assessment of Latvia’s compliance with the UN Convention against Corruption. It provides for the assessment of the compliance of the prevention measures implemented by Latvia and the KNAB and the practice of recovering criminal proceeds with the requirements of the Convention.