Famous Latvian entrepreneur Juris Sprukulis, convicted of fraud, is required to return the Latvian order, according to a statement from the President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs.
Secret Decision
The head of the farm Vecsiljāņi and creator of the product Ievas siers (“Ieva's Cheese”) Juris Sprukulis was ceremoniously awarded the Cross of Recognition in April 2023. However, in September of this year, a court ruling came into effect, imposing a fine of 75,480 euros on Sprukulis for fraud related to EU funding, and an additional 425,500 euros was ordered to be recovered from his enterprise.
It is unknown whether these events (the fraud and the order) are related – the basis for the decision of the Orders Chapter to revoke the award is not disclosed in detail. Previously, the President's Office stated that decisions made at the chapter meeting (which distributes orders in Latvia), as well as discussions regarding the awarding or revocation of high state honors from specific individuals, are not commented on.
However, it is no secret that the order holder from Zemgale has been found guilty of large-scale fraud. In a criminal process initiated by the European Prosecutor's Office in 2023, signs of criminal activity were identified in two projects co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
Self-Ordered Contract
It was established that the entrepreneur, in the interests of his dairy farming enterprise, received state and European funding amounting to 901,095 euros.
The criminal process proved that the construction of agricultural buildings in both projects was carried out not by an external company that won in fair competition, as required by law, but by legal entities associated with the entrepreneur himself.
In the fictitious purchases announced by his own enterprise, the entrepreneur effectively won himself – with a company that he secretly controlled and which was only formally registered in the name of another individual. For this, he was punished – fined and stripped of his order.
Hall of Shame
Entrepreneur Sprukulis became the third order holder to be left without an order.
In 2025, the Cross of Recognition (fourth class) was revoked from former judge Uldis Krastinš. It turned out that during the Soviet era, he imprisoned anti-Soviet elements.
And in 2022, the Order of the Three Stars was taken from the richest citizen of Latvia and also Russian billionaire Petr Aven. He was accused of supporting Russia in the war in Ukraine. At the same time, Aven was stripped of the title of honorary doctor of the University of Latvia.
