Vecāķi property once owned by wife of suspended VARAM state secretary now belongs to their daughter

In Riga's northern district, in the Vecāķi area near Vecdaugava, active construction has begun on a property whose ownership links to people who have recently drawn public attention.

Land register records show the property's previous owner was Andreta Balševica, who left her post as a department director at the Court Administration at the end of last year. Her husband, Edvīns Balševics, was suspended in March from his position as state secretary of the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development (VARAM) in connection with a criminal investigation.

Andreta Balševica acquired the property in two stages: half in November 2021, purchased from Kristīne Guršpone for 39,500 euros, and the other half this February, obtained from Laura Valta under a property division agreement. However, this April she gifted the entire property to her daughter, Monta Skrastiņa, whose father is notary Jānis Skrastiņš. Monta Skrastiņa works as a senior referent at the Ministry of Defense.

Financial declarations

According to officials' asset declarations, Edvīns Balševics earned 106,000 euros last year, holds about 82,000 euros in non-cash savings, has roughly 58,000 euros invested in funds, and carries debt obligations of 117,300 euros. Andreta Balševica earned just under 40,000 euros last year at the Court Administration, has 8,000 euros in cash and 33,000 euros in non-cash savings, and declared two loans taken out last year — 30,000 and 50,000 euros — bringing her total debt to nearly 200,000 euros. Their daughter's declaration lists no savings, loans, or debts.

Reason for suspension

Edvīns Balševics was suspended from his state secretary post in March following public reports of possible involvement in the unlawful disclosure of restricted information related to IT procurement. This connects to a European Public Prosecutor's Office criminal case investigating alleged fraud worth around 1.5 million euros in public IT procurement, in which several people have been arrested, including a former director of the State Digital Development Agency and a public procurement specialist. The investigation suspects an unlawful arrangement to predetermine winners in several procurement projects funded by the European Regional Development Fund.