The Constitution Protection Bureau (SAB) to date has not received any specific and legally substantiated information that could be used to initiate the procedure set out in the Citizenship Law to revoke the citizenship of billionaire Pjotrs Avens, LETA news agency has learned.
The Citizenship Law states that Latvian citizenship shall be revoked if a person has provided significant financial, material, propagandistic, technological or other support to countries or persons whose activities undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of democratic countries or their constitutional order, including genocide, crimes against peace, humanity or war crimes, or if a Latvian citizen has participated in such activities. Latvian citizenship may be revoked if the person in question does not become stateless.
Information that a Latvian citizen has committed any of the aforementioned acts should be provided by the state security authorities.
The SAB explained to LETA news agency that, in accordance with the Citizenship Law, the state security agency, upon obtaining information and legally verifiable facts about the activities mentioned in the Law, will provide the information to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP), which will assess the possible further course of action.
The SAB points out that in this particular case,
the process of obtaining information is not an investigation with a specific deadline.
Due to the specific nature of its activities, the SAB does not publish detailed communications and information exchanges with Latvian and international institutions, but it confirmed that “within the scope of the Bureau’s competence and international cooperation, no specific and legally substantiated information has been received to date that could be used to initiate the procedures set out in the Citizenship Law.”
Although the current geopolitical situation and information circulating in the public sphere suggest that the situation regarding Avens’ citizenship is seemingly clear and that a decision should be made without delay, the SAB notes that in order to initiate the process of revocation of citizenship, legally verifiable facts about the actions mentioned in the Citizenship Law are required.
Otherwise, Latvia risks losing a lawsuit that could be filed in the event of an insufficiently justified decision.
The SAB emphasizes that obtaining legally indisputable facts is a complex and time-consuming process that depends on various factors and is not being delayed.
If the SAB obtains new information on the issue of Avens’ citizenship that is permitted to be made public, the Bureau will disclose it.
In February 2023, LETA reported that
the Latvian security authority was assessing whether there were grounds for revoking Avens’ citizenship.
The issue became topical after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of February, 2022.
In the spring of 2024, SAB Director Egils Zviedris told TV3 programme “900 sekundes” that, in assessing the issue of possible revocation of Avens’ citizenship, the SAB was awaiting information from its partners in Ukraine. Later, when LETA news agency inquired about the progress of Avens’ assessment, the SAB replied that the Bureau does not disclose its communications and information exchange with Latvian or international institutions.
Avens obtained Latvian citizenship in 2016. He was awarded the Order of the Three Stars in 2012, but after Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Order Chapter decided to revoke the award. Shortly thereafter, the Senate of the University of Latvia (LU) decided to revoke Avens’ honorary doctorate from LU.
In 2023, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Citizenship Law, providing for the possibility of revoking Latvian citizenship from persons who, among other things, have significantly supported Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Avens and his business partner Mikhail Fridman have been subject to sanctions by the US,
the UK, the European Union (EU), and other countries, as those countries consider them to be close associates of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and to be serving the interests of the Kremlin, including Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has annulled the EU Council’s decision on sanctions imposed on Avens and Fridman for the period from the 28th of March, 2022 to the 15th of March, 2023, but further EU sanctions imposed on them remain in force. On the 12th of September last year, the EU Council unanimously decided to extend the sanctions for another six months.
Latvia has lodged appeals against the CJEU’s decision in the Avens and Fridman sanctions cases. The Latvian Ministry of Justice previously argued that, when adopting the sanctions, initial evidence had been obtained that both Avens and Fridman had actively provided material or financial support to Russian decision-makers responsible for the annexation of Crimea or the destabilization of Ukraine.
Avens and Fridman were shareholders in Alfa Group. This group includes Alfa Bank, one of Russia’s largest banks. The Financial Times reported that Avens had ended his shareholding in Alfa Bank by selling his shares to his business partner Andrei Kosogov.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Avens and his family have been living in Latvia.
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