Four detained as Latvia's ruling party faces illegal financing probe

Four people, including a city mayor and a well-known businessman, have been detained in Latvia as part of a criminal probe into the alleged illegal financing of the ruling Greens and Farmers Union, the Latvian Corruption Prevention Bureau informed Wednesday.

On Tuesday, anti-corruption officers raided the office of Gatis Truksnis, mayor of Latvia's seaside resort city Jurmala who is a member of the centrist Greens and Farmers Union. After the search at his office, Truksnis was rushed to hospital with sudden health problems and put under police surveillance.

Julijs Krumins, a millionaire businessman known to be sponsoring the Greens and Farmers Union, was also detained later on Tuesday.

The Corruption Prevention Bureau said it would not give more extensive information about the ongoing investigation for now.

Latvian public radio reported on Wednesday that two years ago, Krumins and his daughter Maija Cernavska each donated 15,000 euros (16,811 U.S. dollars) to the Greens and Farmers Union ahead of Latvia's last parliamentary election in 2014.

Janis Rozenbergs, a lawyer representing Truksnis, said on public radio that his client remained in hospital and that he was being guarded by police.

Armands Krauze, chairman of the Greens and Farmers Union, declined any comments on Truksnis' detention as the party is waiting for the Corruption Prevention Bureau to provide an official statement as to the reasons for the arrest.

Citing anonymous sources, LETA news agency reported that Truksnis' detention might have something to do with violations of party financing rules.

Truksnis' lawyer refused to comment on this report. Endit