The Riga City Court will continue the consideration of the criminal case regarding possible violations in the organization of a team-building event for the Riga East Clinical University Hospital next week. In the recent hearings, testimonies were given by representatives of the companies that covered part of the expenses for the event.
The Riga City Court will continue the consideration of the criminal case related to the organization of a team-building event for the Riga East Clinical University Hospital (RAKUS) on June 11. The next hearing will focus on further questioning of witnesses.
The defendants include the head of the RAKUS Emergency Medicine and Patient Reception Clinic, Alexey Vishnyakov, his deputy Gennady Richard Rusanov, and the former director of the hospital for medical technologies, Gints Cirulis. All three deny their guilt.
At the previous hearing, the court heard from representatives of medical equipment supply companies that, according to the investigation, participated in financing the event.
Tradintek representative Alexander Patskevich stated that he received an invoice and forwarded it to the accounting department for payment without delving into the details of the event. According to him, it was perceived at the time as support for a festive event for hospital staff, and he did not consider possible conflicts of interest.
Ritvars Meijels, a representative of the Latvian branch of MedUS Medical, reported that the company paid about 2,000 euros for catering expenses. He stated that the event was presented as related to education and medical themes, rather than as an entertainment event.
During the proceedings, former RAKUS board chairman Normunds Stanovich, current hospital board member Kaspars Plume, and administrative director Iveta Akmentina also testified. Their testimonies generally indicated that they did not participate in organizing the financing of the event or did not have complete information about its sources.
What is important to know: the case concerns not the fact of holding the event for employees, but the alleged method of its financing and the possible use of official positions to attract funds.
According to the prosecution, the event for approximately 150 people cost at least 14,560 euros. This amount included venue rental, catering, service, hosting, and music group services.
The investigation believes that part of the expenses—about 6,500 euros—was paid by the hospital's suppliers after Gints Cirulis allegedly used his position as chairman of the procurement commission to approach companies. Furthermore, the prosecution claims that a forged document was used to cover other expenses, allowing for an additional 4,454 euros to be obtained from one fund.
Vishnyakov is charged with inciting abuse of office, fraud, and forgery of documents. Cirulis is accused of abuse of office, while Rusanov is charged with aiding and abetting fraud.
Meanwhile, the RAKUS management previously stated that they had no information about the defendants' influence on procurement procedures and found no signs of harm to state funds or the hospital. The institution also emphasized that it had no information about anyone gaining personal benefits from the event.
The defense insists that the practice of seeking support from companies for professional events is widespread in the medical field and does not in itself indicate the commission of a crime.
Further proceedings in the case will continue next week when the court will begin questioning new witnesses.
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