Four years ago, less than 647 euros for the use of two airport VIP areas by the daughter of former Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņas were later deducted from the salaries of Kariņas and two of his office employees, the State Chancellery told LETA agency.
The office confirmed that the institution received and paid the bill for the airport of Kariņš, his spouse and daughter VIP areas use as part of the Prime Minister’s working visit to and from the USA from June 28 to July 5, 2022. On the way to and flights from the US went through two different airports and VIP areas Kariņi have used in both of them.
According to the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers on the procedure for reimbursing expenses related to business trips, if, according to the invitation, you have to come with your spouse on a visit to a foreign country, state officials are reimbursed for their spouse’s expenses. At the same time, compensation for children’s expenses is not provided for in the mentioned regulations.
The amount withheld from Kariņš and two employees of his office was 646 euros and 61 cents with value added tax. The State Chancellery did not specify which two office workers they were.
The former director of the State Chancellery, Jānis Citskovskis, told LTV in an interview that initially they tried to ask the state to cover the expenses for the stay of Kariņš’s daughter in the VIP hall, but this was refused.
According to the archive of the LETA agency, Kariņš started his visit to the USA on June 29, 2022. On June 29, Kariņas was scheduled to meet with the governor of the state Tim Valcs and participate in the Business Forum organized by the Latvian Investment and Development Agency in St. Paul, the capital of the state of Minnesota. A meeting with the Ukrainian Society of Minnesota and a press conference were also planned.
On June 30, the Prime Minister of that time participated in the opening ceremony of the General Latvian Song and Dance Festival, during which Kariņš also addressed the participants of the festival.
On July 1, Kariņš went to Lansing, Michigan, where he met with the military leadership of the Michigan National Guard and discussed future cooperation opportunities, as well as got acquainted with the training process of soldiers.
