Latvia's Attorney General Armīns Meisters sharply criticized the statements of former Minister of Agriculture Armands Krauze regarding the timber industry case. According to the head of the prosecution, the politician is spreading "outright lies" and attempting to turn the criminal proceedings into a political show.
The conflict surrounding the high-profile case of the timber industry in Latvia has moved into the public sphere. Attorney General Armīns Meisters stated in an interview with TV3 that the leader of the Union of Greens and Farmers (SZS) and former Minister of Agriculture Armands Krauze is spreading false information about his role in the criminal proceedings.
According to Meisters, Krauze's statements that he supposedly could choose the timing of procedural actions involving him are not true.
The Attorney General emphasized that such decisions are made by investigators and the prosecution, and the subject of the case cannot know in advance when, in what capacity, and for what actions he will be involved in the proceedings.
Meisters also commented on Krauze's claim that he voluntarily went to the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB). The head of the prosecution reminded that the investigation is being conducted by the prosecution, not KNAB, and therefore, in his opinion, the politician had no grounds to approach them.
The prosecution believes that what is happening increasingly resembles a political campaign ahead of the autumn elections. Meisters also stated that there is currently no indication from Krauze of a willingness to cooperate with the investigation.
The timber industry case has become one of the largest corruption investigations in recent years in Latvia. The actions of officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and the company Latvijas Valsts meži (LVM / Latvian State Forests) are being examined as part of the process.
The investigation suspects that officials may have abused their positions in the interests of the forestry sector, and certain representatives of LVM failed to prevent damage to the state amounting to approximately 50 million euros.
Importantly, at this point, most of the subjects have been assigned the status of individuals against whom a criminal process has been initiated; however, there are currently no official suspects or defendants. Therefore, no preventive measures have been applied to anyone.
Among the subjects of the case are former and current officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, the management of LVM, representatives of the forestry sector, and business.
The only person who was actually detained as part of the investigation was former State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Raivis Kronbergs. According to the prosecution, this was related to obstructing the investigation during the active phase of the inquiry.
Krauze himself previously claimed that his involvement in the process is connected to a statement he submitted to the Attorney General's Office. He also emphasized that he was informed that he was not detained.
Against the backdrop of the upcoming elections, the timber industry case is gradually turning into not only a legal but also a political conflict. Meanwhile, the investigation is still in its early stages, and no final conclusions have yet been made by the investigators.
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