Latvia’s tax authority checks academy leaders’ declarations over Cayman firm

Latvia’s State Revenue Service has begun checking the public officials’ declarations of Latvian Academy of Sciences president Ivars Kalviņš and secretary-general Baiba Rivža, LSM reported, citing the LETA news agency. The service confirmed the checks to LETA.

Unofficial information obtained by LETA indicates the checks concern positions at Zoar Limited, a pharmaceutical company registered in the Cayman Islands. Kalviņš and Rivža did not list those positions in their declarations, according to the report. The company’s website says they serve on its advisory board. Zoar Limited was founded by Kanan Vishwanath, who is also its managing director.

Vishwanath has been a Latvian citizen since 2023 and is the husband of Divya Kanan Vishwanath. On October 15, parliament approved citizenship for the India-born scientist through an expedited procedure, based on a recommendation from the Academy of Sciences. After questions about her background appeared on social media, parliament on October 22 passed a law declaring the citizenship-granting law void from the moment it was adopted. Divya Vishwanath has denied the allegations, saying the documents submitted to parliament were accurate and verified.

More than 70 members of the Academy of Sciences asked Kalviņš to explain the events, saying they could harm public trust in science. Kalviņš told Latvian Television that the academy’s presidium had concluded he acted within the powers set out in its statutes when recommending Vishwanath for citizenship.