Anti-corruption bureau to review €420,000 in gifts Stepaņenko received from father in Russia

Latvia's Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has begun reviewing information about substantial money gifts received by Jūlija Stepaņenko, prime ministerial candidate for the "Sovereign Power/Latvian Union" party alliance, from her father who lives in Russia.

The review follows a complaint from Riga City Council member Ģirts Lapiņš (National Alliance), who asked authorities to determine whether receiving money from her Russia-based father violated the law on preventing conflicts of interest for state officials. Lapiņš also asked whether the funds might have financed pre-election campaigning improperly, or whether Stepaņenko could be receiving money through her father to fund her campaign or promote policies favorable to Russia. KNAB confirmed to the LETA news agency that it received the complaint and will assess the information within its authority.

Justice Minister Edvards Smiltēns has also gotten involved, asking KNAB, the State Security Service, the Constitution Protection Bureau, and the Financial Intelligence Unit to each evaluate, according to their respective mandates, the publicly available information about Stepaņenko's declared gifts and the origin of these funds.

Politician declines to explain source of funds

In an interview on LETA's podcast, Stepaņenko refused to explain where her father's money came from, citing her family's right to privacy. She confirmed her father lives in Russia and helps support her family, despite having left when she was a child. Asked about the origin of the funds, she said the gifts were properly declared, and suggested that anyone suspicious of the funds' origin could contact law enforcement, ending the topic by saying "that's where we draw the line."

According to her official declarations, the total value of gifts from her father amounts to €419,598.05 — €239,598.05 declared in 2022, plus an apartment in Riga worth €180,000 received from her father in January 2024.

The declarations reveal other unexplained financial matters as well. When she became a Saeima member in 2014, Stepaņenko had declared loans issued totaling €575,888.42 and debt obligations of €347,479.37, though she did not explain in the interview how this loan capital was accumulated. Her 2025 declaration lists €66,000 in cash savings, while her husband Vjačeslavs Stepaņenko's declaration lists €57,000. She justified her campaign pledge to preserve cash circulation on grounds of personal freedom, denying any connection to her own savings.