Latvian prosecutors review citizenship grants to the Vishwanaths

Latvian prosecutors have opened a review into the granting of citizenship to Indian nationals Kanan and Divya Vishwanath, LSM reported on Monday.

The review follows a submission from Edmunds Jurēvics, chair of the New Unity parliamentary group. He asked prosecutors to assess information raised publicly about a 2023 law recognising Kanan Vishwanath as a Latvian citizen, as well as a law passed on October 15 recognising his wife, Divya, as a citizen. Both bills were submitted by the Saeima’s Citizenship, Migration and Social Cohesion Committee.

Jurēvics also asked prosecutors to examine the role of officials involved in putting the two cases forward. The Prosecutor General’s Office did not specify which officials he meant. It said it would provide information on the next steps in his submission later.

The Prosecutor General’s Office said it had separately reviewed public information about the law granting citizenship to Divya Vishwanath. The Saeima passed that law on October 15 and repealed it on October 22. Citing information that may indicate a breach of the law, including significant doubts about the legal basis for the original decision, prosecutors have begun an examination.

Separately, Latvia’s State Revenue Service is checking declarations filed by Latvian Academy of Sciences President Ivars Kalviņš and Secretary General Baiba Rivža, amid suspicions about their links to Kanan Vishwanath’s citizenship case. Kanan has been a Latvian citizen since 2023.