RIGA - In an Oct. 16 meeting, the Latvian government decided to support the dismissal of anti-corruption head Aleksejs Loskutovs. The highly-controversial decision came in response to a report issued the previous day by an ad hoc commission headed by Prosecutor General Janis Maizitis.
The vote to have the KNAB head dismissed was nearly unanimous, with only one minister abstaining. Kalvitis told journalists after the meeting that the government's decision was based not only on the controversial audit, but also on Loskutovs' performance before the scandal.
In an utterly unexpected decision, Kalvitis on Sept. 24 suspended Aleksejs Loskutovs, chief of the anti-corruption bureau (KNAB), citing irregularities in the bookkeeping of a bureau department charged with undercover operations.
On Oct. 16, however, the prosecutor's office sent a letter to the opposition Harmony Center party which said that the initial suspension was not legal. Kalvitis suspended Loskutovs based on a clause in Latvian labor law, but the prosecutor's office found that the prime minister does not in fact employ the KNAB chief, who was appointed by Saeima (Latvian parliament).
The prosecutor's office also opened its own investigation into the suspect audits which was concluded on Oct. 12. The investigation found that there had been auditing violations on the part of KNAB, but that those violations were not serious enough to warrant a criminal investigation into the matter.
The decision to suspend Loskutovs met with widespread scathing criticism from NGOs that focus on political transparency in Latvia.
Moreover, the opposition New Era party's request to force Kalvitis to explain his decision to suspend Loskutovs was rejected on Oct. 10. "The dismissal of high-ranking state officials cannot be based just on petty political score-settling," a New Era statement said.
The government will now send the report along with their decision to Parliament, which will have to decide on Loskutovs' suitability for the position. The government will not consider candidates to replace the anti-corruption head until after the vote in Parliament.
