Jūlija Stepaņenko, the prime ministerial candidate of the Sovereign Power/Young Latvians alliance, refused to explain the origin of funds gifted to her by her father during an interview on the podcast “Politiķi! Kas tas vispār bija?!”, stressing her family’s right to privacy and her right to receive gifts from relatives.
Stepaņenko confirmed that her father lives in Russia and provides financial support to her family, despite having left the family when she was a child. Asked about the origin of the funds, she said the gifts had been declared and that anyone with suspicions about their origin could contact law enforcement authorities.
“That is where we draw the line,” the politician said. She did not disclose her father’s occupation or explain the source of his funds.
According to Stepaņenko’s public official declarations, the combined value of two gifts from her father amounts to 419,598.05 euros.
In the declaration she submitted upon leaving office on the 31st of October 2022, Stepaņenko reported a gift of 239,598.05 euros from her father. Meanwhile, in her declaration covering the period from the 1st of November, 2023 to the 31st of October, 2024, she reported receiving an apartment in Riga from her father on the 12th of January, 2024, valued at 180,000 euros.
She also declined to comment on her financial situation.
When taking office as a Saeima MP on the 4th of November, 2014, Stepaņenko declared loans she had issued totalling 575,888.42 euros, as well as liabilities amounting to 347,479.37 euros. During the interview, the politician did not explain how she had accumulated the capital used to issue those loans.
In her declaration for 2025, Stepaņenko reported 66,000 euros in cash savings, while her husband, Vjačeslavs Stepaņenko, reported 57,000 euros in cash savings in his own declaration.
Stepaņenko defended preserving the use of cash – one of her election promises – on the grounds of personal freedom and the ability to make payments during power outages. She rejected attempts to link this political proposal to her own cash savings.
“Why do you keep trying to link everything to my personal life?” Stepaņenko asked during the interview.
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