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Aivars Lembergs

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Aivars Lembergs
Lembergs in 2017
Mayor of Ventspils
In office
1988–2021
Preceded byPost established
Succeeded byJānis Vītoliņš
Personal details
Born (1953-09-26) 26 September 1953 (age 71)
Jēkabpils, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR
Political partyCommunist Party of the Soviet Union (1975–1990)
For Latvia and Ventspils (since 1994)
Spouse(s)Ināra Lemberga(1975–1990)
Kristīne Lemberga (2015–)
ChildrenAnrijs
Līga
Artūrs
Alma materUniversity of Latvia
OccupationPolitician
Net worthIncrease US$270 million (2013)[1]
Websitewww.aivarslembergs.lv

Aivars Lembergs (born 26 September 1953) is a Latvian politician, oligarch, and convicted money launderer who was the mayor of Ventspils from 1988 to 2021, a mandate from which he has been suspended since 2008.[2] In February 2021, Lembergs was found guilty of charges relating to bribery and money-laundering. He received a sentence of five years in prison, confiscation of property, and a €20,000 fine.[3]

He has been considered as one of the three most powerful oligarchs in Latvian history, alongside Andris Šķēle and Ainārs Šlesers.[4]

Early life and career

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Lembergs was born in Jēkabpils, Latvia. He studied economics in Latvian State University (now known as the University of Latvia), graduating in 1977. He then worked in various positions in the Communist Party of Latvia, becoming the mayor of Ventspils in 1988. He continued in his position as mayor after Latvia restored its independence (1988-1991) and for a further two decades up until 2021, being re-elected as mayor five times in total.

In 1994, Lembergs founded the regionalist For Latvia and Ventspils political party, with Lembergs being the party chairman ever since. The For Latvia and Ventspils party has completely dominated the city politics of Ventspils ever since the party's foundation.

Before the 2006 parliamentary election, Lembergs' party entered into an alliance with the Union of Greens and Farmers, with the alliance naming Lembergs as its candidate for the Prime Minister of Latvia in future elections as well.

He remains its leading figure and chief financial supporter.[5] He was one of the three "oligarchs" against which Zatlers' Reform Party pledged to act in 2011 if it achieved office.[6]

Criminal convictions

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Since 2008 he has faced a long-running investigation for bribery, money laundering and abuse of office. He vehemently denies all wrongdoing.[7][8][9][10][11]

On 22 February 2021, Lembergs was sentenced to 5-year imprisonment for massive graft, money laundering and abuse of office, along with a 20,000 EUR fine, and confiscation of property[12] worth tens of millions of euros. His son, Anrijs, received a sentence of two years.[13] He was immediately arrested after that.[12] Lembergs has compared his sentencing to the sentencing of Alexei Navalny.[14]

Lembergs was released from Riga Central Prison after serving a year, on 25 February 2022, after posting a bail of €100,000 which was granted by the Riga Regional Court after a request from his lawyers. The conditions of the deal involve a ban on serving as mayor of Ventspils in the future and attempts on appealing his original sentence.[15] Despite the conviction and a split among the alliance, the Union of Greens and Farmers once again nominated him as their prime minister candidate in July 2022 before the 2022 parliamentary election (albeit without him running on the ballot).

Controversies

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Lembergs also featured in the 2016 Panama papers offshore scandal.[16] On 9 December 2019, the US government blocked his US assets under the Magnitsky Act.[17]

On 10 December 2019, the US State Department declared him, and his wife and children, ineligible for entry into the US.[18]

On 23 March 2020, Ventspils City Council deputy Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis has turned to the State Police with a request to start a criminal process against Lembergs for his defamatory claims voiced against minority deputy and state official Kristovskis.[19]

References

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  1. ^ "The Lembergs still Latvia's wealthiest family in 2013". The Baltic Course. 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  2. ^ Gederts, Gelzis (9 December 2019). "U.S. sanctions Latvian oligarch charged with corruption". Reuters. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Lembergs found guilty, sentenced to 5 years". Public Broadcasting of Latvia. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  4. ^ "Treasury Sanctions Corruption and Material Support Networks". U.S. Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  5. ^ Goehring, Jeannette (2007). Nations in Transit 2007: Democratization from Central Europe to Eurasia. London: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 404. ISBN 978-0-932088-26-0.
  6. ^ Eglitis, Aaron. "Latvian Parties Agree Budget, Euro as Coalition Talks Begin" Bloomberg News September 19, 2011
  7. ^ E.L. "Time up for tycoons; Latvian elections: the oligarchs' exit" The Economist September 13, 2011
  8. ^ http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?docid=178741&doclang=en European Court of Justice May 25, 2016
  9. ^ Jemberga, Sanita (13 July 2018). "New Panama leak sheds light on the wealth of Latvian oligarch's daughter". Re:Baltica. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  10. ^ "Prosecutor demands 8-year jail sentence for Ventspils bigwig". Latvian Public Broadcasting. LETA. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  11. ^ Hermann, Rudolf (29 April 2020). "Korruption in Lettland". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  12. ^ a b The court sentences Lembergs for five years in prison and arrests him in the courtroom (in Latvian) Delfi.lv February 22, 2021
  13. ^ "Lembergs faces confiscation of assets worth tens of millions of euros" The Baltic Times February 22, 2021
  14. ^ "Lembergs compares his sentencing to Navalny's case". The Baltic Times. 2021-02-22. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  15. ^ "Jailbird Lembergs will be back on the streets of Ventspils after posting bail". eng.Lsm.lv. 2022-02-25. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  16. ^ "Latvian public figures feature in Panama papers" The Baltic Times April 7, 2016
  17. ^ Mengqi, Sun (9 December 2019). "U.S. Blacklists Foreign Officials, Support Networks for Alleged Corruption". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  18. ^ "Public Designations Due to Significant Corruption of Latvian and Cambodian Officials". state.gov. US Department of State. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  19. ^ "Criminal process launched against Aivars Lembergs for defamation". Baltic News Network. 2020-04-08. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
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