Thinking Of Investing In Latvia?

Don't do it. That's all. I've deleted this post a dozen times over the last ten years and now that I finally want to post it I just can't without condensing it into a very short format that won't drive away readers but unfortunately also lessens the impact of the problems my wife and I have encountered here, again and again. I tried setting up a separate site to deal specifically with the problems we've experienced here as I see them but the time involved and the document scans and explanations necessary not to mention the language issues just made it a non-starter. If you have questions then by all means ask for clarification in the comments and I will oblige to the best of my abilities. I have reams of documentation and registered letters to back up any claims I may make. So here it is in bullet format:

• The system is broken and is kept broken for a reason. Data bases don't talk to each other and this gives great leeway to local managers to do as they please with impunity. They resist positive change. They resent positive change!
• Citizens always have the upper hand against non-citizens. Consider the history of this country and the number of non-citizens and you can see a huge unresolved problem that isn't going to go away. It's not a bug but a feature!
•  Even amongst citizens those who are not connected through a well established system of nepotism and clans will be beaten down. Why anyone would acquire a Residence Permit here for any reason other than access to the EU is beyond me.
• As a PRP holder (husband of a Russian repatriate) I can attest through direct experience that trying to stand up for rights accepted as normal in the rest of the EU will lead you to conflict with the pocket police and massive debts to a advocate or lawyer that at very best will result in a draw. You will not win and will most likely face the exact same charges again down the road, it will always be hanging over your head. You will not win. Ever.
• Because of the previous point Latvian citizens are very adept at filing complaints through a compliant and corrupt system at no cost or responsibility/accountability to themselves. I once had a local prosecutor attempt to extort 400 lats from me during an investigation "through the local police inspector in charge no less" to close a file with another 600 going to the individual who filed the complaint against me. Not close the file in my favour mind you, just close it for now. I declined and spent a year paying a lawyer to keep me out of jail. I would love for someone in the field of yellow journalism to ask me about that one. Kompromat? Anyone?
• Latvian officialdom is two faced. Very nice on the phone or even in person but constantly working against you. You will never know where you stand. Ever.
• Bribes work. KNAB does not. Don't even bother.
• It won't matter how much transparency your company brings. It won't matter how much money you bring to the local economy. It won't matter that you bring a positive benefit to people who this country have written off through austerity measures. Any chimp in a stained tee-shirt can file a complaint against you and initiate a process to bring you down. And it may even, most likely will be, someone who has benefited directly from your largesse. There is no loyalty here. They love to see their neighbors get fucked somehow. It's a Latvian thing.

I won't be staying here much longer. We are winding things down and taking our energies elsewhere. We could never dump our investment without a huge loss so we are unfortunately tied to this country for the forseeable future. But this brings us no joy.


Don't come here except as a summer tourist! Word.