KNAB revokes penalties imposed on NEPLP officials

Latvia’s Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau, KNAB, has withdrawn the penalties imposed on National Electronic Mass Media Council Chairwoman Aurēlija Ieva Druviete and her deputy, Ieva Kalderauska. The conflict-of-interest proceedings against both officials have been closed, the LETA news agency reported.

Druviete said the decision was expected and logical. “We were convinced that the senior official, after reviewing the case again, would take into account the context in which the legal norms were applied. The decision confirms respect for the principle of legitimate expectations in a democratic state,” she said.

KNAB had previously found a potential conflict of interest in the election of leaders of independent institutions, where candidates voted for themselves. It argued that a candidate who votes to become an institution’s chair or deputy also votes for a higher salary and therefore has a material interest in the outcome.

Druviete and Kalderauska rejected that interpretation. They argued that the vote primarily concerned the duties of the post, while the remuneration had already been set. KNAB fined each woman 500 euros, and NEPLP leadership appealed the decision.

The dispute also raised concerns about whether the council could become unable to act if candidates were barred from voting. NEPLP has five members elected by parliament, who choose the chair and deputy from among themselves. In the vote that led to the penalties, excluding Druviete and Kalderauska could have prevented a decision because the council’s votes were divided. Parliament later urgently amended the conflict-of-interest law, explicitly allowing members of collegial institutions, in specified circumstances, to vote on their own election and the setting of their remuneration.

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We were convinced that the senior official, after reviewing the case again, would take into account the context in which the legal norms were applied. The decision confirms respect for the principle of legitimate expectations in a democratic state.