Restrictions on air travel by government officials using private jets with taxpayer funds to be strengthened
The General Prosecutor's Office has initiated an investigation into the leasing of aircraft for current Prime Minister Krisjānis Kariņš, following reports of expensive flights paid for by the state and European Union (EU) sources.
According to LTV program "De Facto", these flights, all of which were to or from Brussels, seemed to have been arranged so that Kariņš could return to Latvia on Friday evenings. Since 2019, over 600,000 euros have been spent from the state purse, and over 700,000 euros from EU sources, for Kariņš' private plane use.
The investigation comes amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, during which Kariņš started using private flights with state money. Regular flights were not always available due to the pandemic's impact on services.
Director of the State Chancellery Jānis Citskovskis stated that the primary task is to make the most of the Prime Minister's time, implying that private flights may have been used to save time. The State Chancellery assessed each time whether Kariņš could reach the intended destination by commercial flight.
Kariņš has made 36 flights during his tenure as prime minister, costing over 1.3 million euros to taxpayers. He has flown to Portugal, Germany, France, Denmark, and Ukraine using Latvian state money.
The current head of the government, Evika Siliņa (New Unity), used a private plane to return from the European Council meeting in Brussels a month ago, costing 26,000 euros. However, Siliņa's office has stated that in the future, she will use commercial flights as much as possible.
There is no information available about who first booked a private jet flight with public funds at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. The investigation is expected to shed light on this matter.
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