Latvia’s Minister of the Interior, Rihards Kozlovskis (New Unity), has also not provided a public explanation as to why progress has stalled in the government’s plan to revoke Latvian citizenship from Russian billionaire Pjotrs Avens.
Earlier, the Constitution Protection Bureau (SAB), which is responsible for moving the issue forward, stated that the bureau does not make public its communication or exchange of information with Latvian or international institutions regarding this matter.
When asked by the LETA news agency why the evaluation of Avens’ citizenship has already taken more than two years, Kozlovskis replied that he is convinced the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP) would immediately make a decision on revoking Avens’ citizenship as soon as an appropriate opinion from the security services is received.
At the same time, the minister emphasized that the revocation of citizenship is an administrative, not a political process, as stipulated by law.
According to Kozlovskis,
the PMLP is responsible for the decision and related procedures,
which are carried out based on an assessment by the national security authority.
It has previously been reported that the Progressives (Progresīvie) parliamentary faction has sent a letter to Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (New Unity) and Interior Minister Kozlovskis, requesting detailed information about the circumstances under which Avens obtained Latvian citizenship.
The party also seeks clarification on whether and how the grounds for revoking Latvian citizenship, as set out in the Citizenship Law, have been evaluated in Avens’ case.
As LETA reported back in February 2023, Latvian security services have been assessing whether grounds exist to revoke the citizenship of Russian billionaire Pjotrs Avens.
The issue gained renewed relevance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of February, 2022.
In spring 2024, the head of the SAB, Egils Zviedris, told TV3’s “900 sekundes” program that, in evaluating the possible revocation of Avens’ citizenship,
the bureau was awaiting information from partner agencies in Ukraine.
However, when LETA inquired last week about the progress of Avens’ case, the SAB responded that the bureau does not make public its communication or information exchanges with either Latvian or international institutions.
According to the Citizenship Law, once the national security authority has gathered information and verifiable legal facts, it will forward them to the PMLP, which will then evaluate whether to proceed with the case.
The SAB, a national security agency under the supervision of the Cabinet of Ministers, stated that, “If the bureau possesses information that can be made public, it will do so.”
Avens acquired Latvian citizenship in 2016. In 2012, he was awarded the Order of the Three Stars, Latvia’s highest state decoration. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Order Chapter decided to strip him of the award, and soon afterward, the Senate of the University of Latvia voted to revoke his honorary doctorate.
Avens’ grandfather was a Latvian rifleman who remained in Russia after the Russian Civil War.
In 2023, the Saeima (Latvian Parliament) passed amendments to the Citizenship Law, allowing the government to revoke citizenship from individuals who have significantly supported Russia’s war in Ukraine, among other grounds.
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