Prosecutors review complaint over Latvian MP Butāns's stated education

Latvia's Prosecutor General's Office has received a complaint concerning inconsistencies in the education information that National Alliance (NA) Saeima member Artūrs Butāns provided in his candidate filings for the last three parliamentary elections. Prosecutors confirmed the complaint was received and that a decision on further steps will follow. State Police said it had reviewed the publicly reported information and notified the Prosecutor General's Office, but could not comment further while the matter is under review.

Education details shifted over time

In his 2018 and 2022 election documents, and initially in this year's candidate card, Butāns listed higher education — a Sydney business college he said he graduated from in 2018 with a specialization in business management. After news agency LETA inquired about the Australian qualification, his higher education entry in this year's filing was changed to secondary education, and the college was removed from his list of institutions. The Central Election Commission's currently published candidate card lists secondary education, completed at a distance-learning secondary school in Riga, as his highest attained level.

Butāns explained that he obtained a business management certificate in Australia but never submitted it in Latvia for recognition, and had not looked into having it recognized since obtaining it in 2018. He said he would approach the Academic Information Centre (AIC) to determine how the qualification compares to Latvian standards. AIC said it cannot assess whether Butāns's qualification is equivalent to Latvian higher education without the underlying documents. Butāns said that after being elected to parliament in 2022, he enrolled in a bachelor's program in Latvia, which he expects to complete by the end of this year, and plans to begin a master's program next year.

The Sydney institution where Butāns studied was a private vocational education provider whose registration lapsed in 2020. Its course catalogue offered various certificate and diploma programs in business that correspond to different levels within Australia's qualifications framework, though that does not automatically determine their equivalence in Latvia.

Possible liability

Latvia's election law establishes liability for knowingly providing false information in candidate filings, and the Criminal Law provides for criminal liability for such conduct. In a similar case, a court in 2024 convicted former MP Glorija Grevcova, who subsequently lost her parliamentary mandate. Separately, former Olaine deputy mayor Andris Vurčs faces charges over misrepresented education in a municipal election filing; his court hearing was postponed this year.