Smiltene councillor and sports board head co-owned a firm with a Ukrainian businessman under tax fraud investigation
A TV3 programme reports that a Smiltene municipality councillor and the head of its Sports Board had a joint company with a Ukrainian businessman who is under investigation in Ukraine. The newspaper Ziemeļlatvija has launched its own inquiry since the broadcast.
Information has emerged that two people linked to the Smiltene municipality in northern Latvia shared a company with a Ukrainian businessman. They are council member Dainis Aļeksējevs and Matīss Mežulis, head of the Smiltene Municipality Sports Board. In Ukraine, an investigation into tax fraud has been opened against the businessman.
Where the information came from
The details were made public by the TV3 programme "Nekā personīga", broadcast on Sunday, 25 October. The programme reported the connection of the two municipality-related individuals to the joint firm.
What happens next
After the broadcast, the local newspaper Ziemeļlatvija carried out its own inquiry to establish what actually happened and how a company founded in Smiltene came to be drawn into the Ukrainian businessman's dealings. The available part of the article does not set out the findings, so details about the company's activities, the roles of the two men in it and possible consequences remain unclear.
The source does not say that any investigation has been opened against the councillor or the Sports Board head. The tax fraud investigation concerns the Ukrainian businessman and is being conducted in Ukraine. No explanations from the municipal officials are provided in the available text.
The matter draws attention because both people are connected to the local government: one is an elected councillor, the other leads a municipal institution.
