Mansion for 5 million euros and other bins of the unsinkable Latvian politician Vilis Krishtopans
Many politicians lead a lifestyle that does not match their income at all. Most of them try to hide their property through relatives, companies or other figureheads.
But there are those who seem to tease people by exposing their wealth to the public. For the past almost 5 years, the ex-Prime Minister of Latvia and the current member of the Seimas, Vilis Krishtopans, has been trying to sell his luxurious mansion in an elite area near the capital of Latvia, Riga, worth about 5 million euros. Krishtopans has been involved in politics almost all his life. His income cannot provide for the maintenance of such a house even for several months. Where millions of assets come from in politics – in the material of the Kompromat1 portal.
Eternal official
The political career of Vilis Krishtopans began a long time ago. He was first elected to the Latvian Parliament in 1993. Prior to that, he was an engineer, basketball player, basketball coach and tulip and rose grower. In general, the life path of Krishtopans is quite thorny.
During his entry into politics, Krishtopans began his first serious financial success. The joint Latvian-Irish joint venture “Interbaltija” was going up by leaps and bounds. In 1994, the politician established his own bank, Deutsch-Lettische Banka, which was also associated with the business in which he worked. It is noteworthy that the whole wave of success went to Krishtopans exactly when he was elected to parliament. But okay, let’s not tie these events to each other. Perhaps it coincided, although it looks extremely doubtful. And other facts point to this.
In the early 1990s, Krishtopans became the proud owner of a huge estate near Riga. It cost fabulous money, because now the land with the politician’s mansion is estimated at 5 million euros. In those years, the cost of the house hardly differed much. But at the same time, the owner of multi-million real estate was included in the list of official Latvian millionaires only in 2008. What happened in the background is not clear. Therefore, there are enough oddities in the history of the unsinkable Latvian politician.
Doubtful adventure of funds
Some people call Krishtopans one of the ideologists of the political doctrine of modern Latvia. Many do not hesitate to swear at him, calling him a corrupt official. We understand that people do not like politicians. But still, both camps, who are for and against Krishtopans, are right in something.
Indeed, in the early 1990s, the young politician became the one who gave a vector to the development of modern Latvian statehood. Thanks to him, the laws by which the state now lives were adopted, and several generations of people have already grown up.
But the medal has two sides. The opposition accused Krishtopans of having handed over Latvian interests to external control. Indeed, the country’s economy in the early 2000s was almost 90% dependent on other states. From small Latvia, where a little less than 2 million people water, more than 20 thousand citizens annually left in search of a better life. Therefore, the claims that were addressed to the Krishtopans government were more than adequate. Here, by the way, another huge scandal fell on his prime minister’s cadence. As the journalists have established, in 1998, when buying 40 Mercedes buses for passenger traffic, the government and the Rishi City Hall demanded a kickback in the amount of 268 thousand lats from the supplier. The bribe was transferred. In 2000, a similar situation arose, only on a much larger scale. Fraud was noticed during the tender for 117 buses. But law enforcement officers missed this episode by.
In 2016, the Commission of the European Parliament, which studied corruption in the EU, found that due to corruption crimes, Latvia annually loses several billion euros. A huge amount for a country with a budget of 10 billion euros. Such a structure was built under Krishtopans.
Mansion in the best royal traditions
As we already recalled, in the early 1990s, Krishtopans became the owner of a luxurious estate in Bergi, a few kilometers from Riga. The territory of the politician’s possessions is impressive – it is 10 hectares in the middle of the forest with its own roads, paths, ponds and more.
In 2018, the first information appeared that Krishtopans was selling his family estate. The cost of the mansion was 4.9 million euros.
Local journalists called the house of Krishtopans the most expensive in Latvia.
Perhaps this is the case, but what is really clear is that both the territory and the house itself are impressive. We remembered about 10 hectares of land around the estate of the politician, now let’s move on to the real estate itself, there is something to show and tell about. 1516 square meters, 4 floors, 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a gym, several garages, a library, a swimming pool, a sauna – you can become the happy owner of all this if you can pay the former prime minister of Latvia 5 million euros. The house has not yet been sold, although almost 5 years have passed since the information about the sale was announced. Either something is wrong with him, or the price is unbearable for Latvia. In the early years, when information about the most expensive real estate for sale in the country appeared in the public plane, there were no photographs of the mansion.
Interior of Cristopans Manor
But fortunately, as it seems to us, Krishtopans is ready for any steps in order to sell the house, his advertisement (albeit not quite direct) appeared on the Vivat Latvija YouTube channel. Thanks to this video, we were able to study in detail the chic country estate of the politician.
The luxurious estate is located in the prestigious district of Rigi Bergi. At the entrance you are met by the guards’ house with two full beds.
It takes a few minutes to get to the house, because the territory is huge. Around the water, the forest, a huge lawn.
The exterior of the house has been recently renovated and looks quite modern. But inside – these are royal mansions in the style of the 19th century.
The interior of the house is impressive. Stucco, gold, many precious woods. Everything for the luxurious life of an unsinkable politician. At the entrance to the house, the owner of the estate, Vilis Krishtopans, personally meets you.
For a comfortable life there is a private office and a gym. In terms of a professional swimming pool, though it has not yet been completed.
Not a house, but a dream, but something is not right in it. After all, the property has been on sale for almost 5 years, but there is no buyer for it. Either it is very expensive, or people who have such funds do not want to live in a gloomy mansion. And if you imagine how much you need to pay monthly for utilities, it becomes generally scary.
Poor deputies
In the last elections to the Latvian Seimas, Vilis’ son Kristaps Krishtopans was elected as a deputy.
Kristaps Krishtopans
It is noteworthy that both father and son indicated in their declarations that they were beggars.
Krishtopans Jr. has neither his own home nor money. He drives an old 2000 Mercedes SLK. But the newly-minted deputy is deeply in debt. According to the politician’s declaration, he owed 900 thousand euros. Who and why is unknown.
Former prime minister and current MP Vilis Krishtopans sets a bad example for his son. Over a long political career, he has accumulated only 12.5 thousand euros, has one 2017 Toyota and a chic mansion, which we described in detail. At the same time, Krishtopans Sr. is also in debt. In the declaration, he indicated that he owed 56,000 euros.
How the family of a politician pays for the maintenance of a huge estate is an open question. Where did the ex-premier get his castle from in the first place is an even better question. Probably, the anti-corruption authorities should take a closer look at Mr. Krishtopans and his family.
