On the 28th of October, 2025, the Prosecution Office for the Investigation of Criminal Offences in State Institutions referred to the Riga City Court a criminal case concerning the use of special charter flights during former Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš’s foreign missions.
One person — the former Director of the State Chancellery — has been charged with failure to perform the duties of a state official resulting in serious consequences. Criminal liability for this offence is provided under Section 319, Paragraph 3 of the Criminal Law. Due to the Director’s inaction, the Republic of Latvia suffered losses of €89,382.90, which, in accordance with Section 24(1) of the Law “On the Entry into Force and Application of the Criminal Law”, is considered a criminal offence with serious consequences.
During the pre-trial investigation, the possible liability of the former Prime Minister, several officials of the State Chancellery, and employees of its structural unit — the Prime Minister’s Office — was examined. It was concluded that the Director of the State Chancellery, as the head of the institution, was responsible for ensuring the legality and efficiency of the use of state budget funds for services related to the Prime Minister’s foreign business trips.
The investigation found that for four of the Prime Minister’s foreign missions, the State Chancellery unlawfully ordered and paid for five special charter flights, despite the possibility of purchasing regular commercial flight tickets for the Prime Minister’s delegation in a timely manner.
By using regular commercial flights and avoiding additional accommodation costs, the State Chancellery could have saved €89,382.90 in state budget funds. In assessing the damage, the prosecution took into account the methodology used in the State Audit Office’s report on the use of special flights for the Prime Minister’s missions, as well as its conclusions regarding the unlawful use of state funds and
the State Chancellery’s possibility to save budget resources by using regular flights.
Although the prosecution did not dispute the Prime Minister’s authority to independently decide on the need for a foreign mission, the investigation established that the Director of the State Chancellery failed to ensure compliance with the principles of the Law on the Prevention of Squandering of Public Funds and Property and with Cabinet Regulation No. 969 “Procedures for Reimbursement of Expenditures Related to Business Trips”. The prosecution also noted that charter flights were paid for from state budget funds allocated under the 2022 State Budget Law to ensure safe flights for the Prime Minister during the Covid-19 pandemic — yet the missions in question were organised after the end of the state of emergency.
Therefore, the prosecution determined that the Director of the State Chancellery did not fulfil his statutory duties — under the State Administration Structure Law, the Law on Budget and Financial Management and other regulatory acts — to supervise the lawful and efficient use of state budget funds. He also failed to take action or give orders to subordinate officials to cancel the unlawfully ordered charter flights.
The Prosecution Office emphasises that no person shall be considered guilty until their guilt in committing a criminal offence has been established in accordance with the procedures set out in the Criminal Procedure Law.
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