Latvia Police Investigate Alleged Charity Fraud by Tev

On June 30th, 2025, the police launched an investigation into allegations that the charity organisation Tev had demanded compensation from the receiving party for making a donation by transporting confiscated cars to Ukraine. Four months later, when the investigation was completed, the police initiated criminal proceedings. "At present, the criminal proceedings are classified in accordance with Section 177(3) of the Criminal Law, which concerns large-scale fraud or fraud committed by an organised group," said Simona Grāvīte, head of the Public Relations Department of the State Police. The investigation is ongoing, so the police are not providing any further comments. De Facto received the first reports that the association Tev had demanded money from aid recipients on June 12th last year. According to the Ukrainian Civilian Support Law, cars confiscated from drunk drivers in Latvia can only be transferred to Ukraine without compensation To verify the information initially received, De Gacto conducted a journalistic experiment and arranged for Yaroslav, who works for the Ukrainian army, to call the association's representative Amela Al-Asbahi and inquire about the possibility of receiving a car. In a conversation with Yaroslav, she replied: "We have calculated that our expenses are €1,000 per car. And we ask for compensation for fuel to take it there. (..) And insurance is also a must. That is also our expense. Something needs to be repaired, parts need to be purchased. Sometimes these cars are not even in Rīga. For example, we are in Rīga, but the car is somewhere outside Rīga. We have to buy or rent a trailer to transport these cars. In short, there are expenses all the time. And we can only pass them on if these costs, which are around 1,000 euros, are compensated." Initially, cars confiscated from drunk drivers were transported to Ukraine only by the so-called Twitter convoy or the association "Agendum." Later, the Provisions State Agency began cooperating with other non-governmental organisations. Cooperation with the association "Tev" began after the association itself had requested it from the Ministry of the Interior. Last summer, the NVA terminated the cooperation. "A departmental audit was launched, and the cooperation was terminated accordingly. It was our agency's decision," said Sofija Upatniece, public relations representative of the NVA. De Facto requested NVA to see the documents listing the recipients of the cars in Ukraine several times. This would make it possible to understand how many recipients of aid the association's representative indicated would receive cars in Ukraine if they paid a thousand euros, as well as whether anyone actually paid this amount. However, the NVA is not providing this information during the criminal proceedings. For the time being, Riga City Council (RD) has also suspended its cooperation with the association "Tev". The City Council and the association "Tev" also had a hundred thousand euro cooperation agreement for the construction of a shelter in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv. "The last agreements concluded on providing support to Ukrainian civilians through the association "Tev" were in early spring last year, during the previous composition of the council. There was a cooperation agreement on the establishment of a shelter in Chernihiv. As far as I know, the shelter has been established," said Rīga Mayor Viesturs Kleinbergs (Progressives). Latvia continues to deliver cars confiscated from drunk drivers to the war-torn country. This week, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the transfer of 21 vehicles to Ukraine without compensation. Three non-governmental organisations were entrusted with delivering the cars to Ukraine: the Agendum association, the Tavi draugi association, and the Entrepreneurs for Peace foundation.