VARAM to stop paying salary to suspended state secretary Balševics

Pay halted for suspended official

Latvia's Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development (VARAM) has announced that Edvīns Balševics, its state secretary who was previously suspended from performing his duties, will no longer receive a salary going forward. The ministry itself made the announcement public.

Until now, Balševics had retained the right to be paid despite his earlier suspension from the state secretary post. Under the new decision, that arrangement has changed, and payments to him will now stop.

The role of a state secretary

A state secretary is the top civil-service position within a Latvian ministry, responsible for overseeing the institution's day-to-day administrative work while reporting to the responsible minister. Suspension from such a post typically means the official is temporarily or indefinitely barred from carrying out their duties while a related matter is being addressed.

VARAM's statement did not provide further detail on the grounds for the decision, the legal process behind it, or its future consequences. It also remains unclear whether, or how, Balševics might contest the decision to stop his pay.

The matter of the former state secretary's status and the related financial questions remains within the ministry's purview, and no further updates on how the case will proceed have been made public so far.