Latvian Foreign Minister K. Karinis resigns after the flight scandal

This was reported by the portal LSM on Thursday.

After the meeting with the Prime Minister of Latvia Evika Siliņa, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed that he will leave his post on April 10, and already on April 11. The Saeima will be able to vote on the candidacy of a new head of the Department of Diplomacy.

The meeting of politicians was announced in advance, and its main topic was known: the flight scandal, which prompted the General Prosecutor’s Office to open criminal proceedings for possible waste of funds. The investigation is carried out by the Office for Prevention and Combating Corruption (KNAB).

As LSM previously wrote, the expenses of the Latvian delegation covered by the EU budget for flights to the meetings of the European Council from 2019 to 2022 amounted to 557,274 euros. Such information was provided by the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU to the Latvian TV show “What’s happening in Latvia?”. As data for all EU countries show, the amount paid to Latvia is the largest, accounting for more than a fifth of all payments.

During his tenure as Prime Minister, K. Karinis traveled abroad 18 times on special flights or so-called private planes – more than 600 thousand was spent from the state budget for 32 flights. euros. The data of the State Chancellery, presented to Latvian television, did not convince that all these expenses were justified.

Neither the former president of Latvia, Egilas Levitas, nor the current head of state, Edgaras Rinkevičius, used private flights. K. Karinis himself does not agree with the criticism addressed to him regarding the use of state funds for special flights during the period of leadership of the government. He expressed this in an interview with the Latvian TV show “Ryto Panorama”.