Stepaņenko won't explain source of €420,000 in gifts from father living in Russia

Jūlija Stepaņenko, prime ministerial candidate for the "Sovereign Power/Latvian Union" party alliance, declined during an interview on the podcast "Politiķi! Kas tas vispār bija?!" to explain where her father, who lives in Russia, obtained funds he gave to her family. She emphasized her family's right to privacy.

Stepaņenko confirmed her father lives in Russia and provides financial help to 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 that anyone suspicious of their source could turn to law enforcement authorities. She ended the topic by saying "here we draw the line," without explaining her father's occupation or the source of his money.

Scale of declared gifts

According to Stepaņenko's official asset declarations, she received two gifts from her father totaling €419,598.05. A declaration filed upon leaving a position on October 31, 2022, lists a gift of €239,598.05 from her father. A later declaration covering November 2023 to October 2024 states that on January 12, 2024, she received an apartment in Riga worth €180,000 from him.

She also declined to comment on her overall financial situation. Upon becoming a Saeima member on November 4, 2014, she had declared loans issued totaling €575,888.42 and debt obligations of €347,479.37, but did not explain during the interview how this loan capital was built up.

Savings and cash policy

In her 2025 declaration, Stepaņenko listed €66,000 in cash savings, while her husband Vjačeslavs Stepaņenko declared €57,000 in cash. She justified her campaign pledge to preserve cash circulation by citing personal freedom and the ability to make payments during power outages, rejecting any link between this policy proposal and her own savings.