Latvia’s security services are probing whether sanctioned Russian billionaire Petr Aven should be stripped of his Latvian citizenship under a law adopted in response to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
(Bloomberg) — Latvia’s security services are probing whether sanctioned Russian billionaire Petr Aven should be stripped of his Latvian citizenship under a law adopted in response to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The inquiry has been underway for some time and investigators have yet to submit their conclusions, Andrejs Vaivars, a communications adviser to Interior Minister Maris Kucinskis, said by phone, declining to provide further details. The Leta newswire reported the probe earlier on Monday.
The Baltic nation’s parliament adopted legislation in April 2022 that allows authorities to revoke the citizenship of holders of more than one passport found to have supported genocide, crimes against peace, and threats to the territorial integrity and constitutional order of democratic states. Should the security services find that Aven has violated the law, the report will be sent to the Office of Citizenship and Migration for a decision, which could later be challenged in court.
Aven declined to comment. The billionaire’s grandfather was Latvian, and he was granted citizenship in 2016 after meeting naturalization requirements and passing a language exam.
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