Latvia, Legislation, Port, Real Estate, Transport

The KNAB, in cooperation with the State Revenue Service, has initiated the investigation, LETA was informed by KNAB spokeswoman Mara Priedite.

As reported, several Unity MPs have called on the State Revenue Service to check the information submitted on Agriculture Minister Janis Duklavs' income declaration in wake of the leaked ''oligarch conversations''.

Unity MPs Ilze Vinkele, Lolita Cigane, Ints Dalderis, Andrejs Judins and Aleksejs Loskutovs have signed the letter addressed to State Revenue Service Director Ilze Cirule.

The politicians point out to a taped conversation involving Duklavs from 2010, which has recently been leaked by the weekly news and current affairs magazine Ir, where Duklavs is heard requesting a ''favor'' from one of Latvia's so-called oligarchs and then Riga Freeport board chairman Ainars Slesers. Duklavs said in the conversation with Slesers that he indirectly owns a piece of land ''through one or two companies'' within the port's territory, which he would like to sell for ''15 million''.

The MPs point out in the letter that ''it is possible Duklavs owns real estate within the territory of the Freeport of Riga, which he has not declared in his income declaration''. The MPs thus request the Revenue Service to verify the information submitted in Duklavs' income declarations the past seven years.

The parliamentarians call on the Revenue Service to pay especial attention on whether or not Duklavs has included in full all the properties he may own directly or indirectly.

Meanwhile, Duklavs denied to LETA that he owns such a piece of land. ''This is nonsense. People have nothing else to do. I do not read magazine Ir,'' he said.

The State Revenue Service has informed LETA that it has yet to receive this application from the MPs, but said that once it does it will look into Duklavs' income declarations.