Aivars Lembergs
Aivars Lembergs (born September 26, 1953) is a Latvian politician and oligarch, who has been the mayor of Ventspils since 1988, a mandate from which he has been suspended since 2008. In February 2021, Lembergs was found guilty of charges relating to bribery and money-laundering. He received a sentence of five years in prison, confiscation of property, and a €20,000 fine. Early life and education. Lembergs was born in Jēkabpils, Latvia. He studied economics in Latvian State University (now known as the University of Latvia), graduating in 1977. He then worked in various positions in the  Communist party of Latvia, becoming mayor of Ventspils in 1988. He stayed in this position after Latvia became independent and has been re-elected five times. Lembergs was the leader of the local political party, For Latvia and Ventspils which he founded in 1994. For Latvia and Ventspils has completely dominated the city politics since it was founded. Before the 2006 parliamentary election, Lembergs' party For Latvia and Ventspils entered into an alliance with the Union of Greens and Farmers and the Union of Greens and Farmers named Lembergs as its candidate for the Prime Minister of Latvia. He remains  its leading figure and chief financial supporter. He was one of the three "oligarchs" against which Zatlers' Reform Party pledged to act if it achieved office. Career. Since 2008 he has faced a long-running investigation for bribery, money laundering and abuse of office. He vehemently denies all wrongdoing. On 22 February 2021, Lembergs was sentenced to 5-year imprisonment, a 20,000 EUR fine, and confiscation of property worth tens of millions of euros. He was immediately arrested after that. Lembergs has compared his sentencing to the sentencing of Alexei Navalny. Controversies. Lembergs also featured in the 2016 Panama papers  offshore scandal. On 9 December 2019, the US government blocked his US assets under the Magnitsky Act. On 10 December 2019, the US State Department declared him, his wife and children ineligible for entry into the US. On 23 March 2020, Ventspils City Council deputy Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis has turned to the State Police with a request to start a criminal process against Lembergs for his defamatory claims voiced against minority deputy and state official Kristovskis.