After receiving an anonymous letter about possible fraud in procurement at the state enterprise 'Latvijas Koncerti', the Ministry of Culture contacted the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (CPCB) and the Procurement Monitoring Bureau requesting to verify the facts stated in the complaint, public media reports.
Board member of the public organization "Latvijas Koncerti" Guntars Kirsis describes the content of the letter as illogical and points out that the claims contained in it do not correspond to the "actual situation".
The letter describes a scheme by which "Latvijas Koncerti" operates. When the company announces a competition, the winner is the enterprise that submitted a bid with a price significantly lower than that of its competitors, but then a contract is concluded for an amount exceeding the proposed one:
"One of the employees of 'Latvijas Koncerti' is indirectly involved in the activities of the firm: a family member or close friend. There is a likelihood that the intermediary company somehow distributes funds among close employees. The letter further lists specific competitions and winners associated with the long-time head of 'Latvijas Koncerti'.
Kirsis stated that he does not participate in procurement procedures: "I cannot influence the work of the procurement commission and the selection of service providers. Responsible employees in each area resolve work issues with representatives of service providers."
The companies mentioned in the anonymous letter have regularly won state procurements for 'Latvijas Koncerti' - LLC "Printline", audiovisual service provider LLC "Hood Films", and cultural event service company LLC "Koncerti & Koncerti". The amounts for services indicated by the anonymous authors and 'Latvijas Koncerti' differ. The details of the deals also vary.
Minister of Culture Agnese Laizane took the letter seriously: "I think that right now it is not even so important who the sender is. The information contained in the letter and the statements made in it must be verified. And this is a priority task for the Ministry of Culture as a shareholder."
