The Central Election Commission (CVK) employs at least one fictitious female employee who has been formally hired so that her husband can avoid faster-growing child support payments – this conclusion can quite justifiably be drawn from information received in the Inc. editorial office and from attempts to verify this information.
Early on the morning of March 26, after the current affairs broadcast “Kas notiek Latvijā?” (“What’s Happening in Latvia?”), I received some rather interesting information via one of the messaging apps from a person I know, who is recognizable and by no means anonymous.
The informant said that at that time the head of the Riga City Election Commission, Māris Zviedris, had employed Jānis Freimanis (personal ID xxxxxx-xxxxx), who was and is a child support debtor. However, since Freimanis wanted to avoid paying child support, the contract in question back then was concluded with his girlfriend, Ilze Bērziņa (personal ID xxxxxx-xxxxx), for IT services. The same practice continues now at the CVK, only Bērziņa now has an employment contract. Yet this person has no connection to IT or to systems at all, as she has neither the relevant education nor experience. “The lady works in the hospitality sector and is the girlfriend of Jānis Freimanis. The CVK concluded the above‑mentioned contract with Ilze Bērziņa so that it could pay Jānis Freimanis, against whom child support debt recovery is underway, but this particular lady does no work at the CVK; all of it is done by Jānis Freimanis. Freimanis himself also has no education or knowledge in system development. Previously, the then CVK chair M. Zviedris used a similar scheme to hire the said Freimanis at the Riga Election Commission, because he helped in a primitive way to compile election results on election night, simply correcting polling station errors in the system. This information has been confirmed by two different persons from the CVK.”
Quite loud claims, I thought, but right then additional details arrived with specific data:
“Contracts concluded by the Riga City Election Commission on the above:
1) Contract No. VK-24-55-lī of 10.05.2024 with Ilze Bērziņa for computer specialist services for the organization of the 2024 European Parliament elections and the 2025 Municipal elections. At the Riga Election Commission, M. Zviedris concluded contracts only with Ilze Bērziņa (no contracts were concluded with Jānis Freimanis because of the child support debt); in reality Freimanis was working, while the lady did nothing. Previous contracts concluded by M. Zviedris at the Riga City Election Commission on the above:
2) Contract No. VK-23-147-lī of 07.12.2023 with Ilze Bērziņa for computer specialist services for the organization of the 2024 European Parliament elections.
3) Contract No. VK-22-543-lī of 01.09.2022 with Ilze Bērziņa for computer specialist services for the organization of the 2022 Saeima elections.
4) Contract No. VK-22-125-lī of 16.03.2022 with Ilze Bērziņa for computer specialist services for the organization of the 2022 Saeima elections.”
Looking for some information on the internet, I found a publication from a reader on the portal pietiek.com.
I figured the information should be checked and started looking for the CVK public relations specialist. Although I did not find such a specialist on the CVK website, from several sources I managed to find out that this February, Dzintars Rasnačs’s (NA) “girlfriend” Līga Ādamsone, who previously worked as head of Justice Minister Rasnačs’s office, had been hired at the CVK as a public relations specialist. “Along the way” it turned out that media publications about this relationship have been deleted, although at least one photo gallery remains. However, I was unable to find this employee on the CVK website, which is very peculiar for a public relations specialist’s position. So, it had to be checked.
I manage to reach Ādamsone herself by phone, although she cannot be found among the staff contacts because she has been hired on a probationary basis and therefore did not wish to share her phone number, and on top of that she has health problems and “just, literally two days ago” was discharged from hospital after surgery. It must be said that this can raise certain additional questions as to why one would take a public post knowing that “tomorrow there’s an operation and incapacity for work.” Meanwhile, when I reach the CVK head, Māris Zviedris, via the Signal app and ask whether other questions should be put to him personally or to Līga Ādamsone, he replies that Ādamsone is on sick leave, so questions should be sent to him personally. At the same time, Zviedris asks which media outlet I represent, to which I send a reply including the portal’s web address, and I send my questions by email. I receive a “like” emoji and conclude that everything is fine and clear.
The questions sent are not complicated:
According to the information at my disposal, the CVK has concluded (has had) the following contracts with a person named Ilze Bērziņa:
1) VK-22-125-lī of 16.03.2022
2) VK-22-543-lī of 01.09.2022
3) VK-23-147-lī of 07.12.2023
4) VK-24-55-lī of 10.05.2024
What work or services did Ilze Bērziņa provide to the CVK?
Is there currently any cooperation agreement with this person, and is it an employment contract or a service contract?
Will Ilze Bērziņa carry out any work in connection with the upcoming elections?
(I should add that I myself made a mistake and wrote CVK instead of the Riga Election Commission.)
However, after more than 24 hours there are still no answers, and I start to worry. I ask Māris Zviedris whether I should expect a reply or not, to which I receive the answer that the questions have not been received. I send a screenshot and add that perhaps it went into spam.
Yes, it was in spam – this became clear after almost an hour and a half, and an additional question arose: “Since at the same time as your junk mail we received a warning that you may be a producer of fake content, please find a way to provide verifiable information that you are the person you claim to be and represent a company that I am also hearing about for the first time.”
I write that I understand the response and, given that I already sent the portal’s address earlier, I assume that there is no desire to answer unpleasant questions. Moreover, our website also lists the Mass Media (MIL) registration number and all other necessary data. I also add that it is peculiar that when answering questions about Līga Ādamsone, no additional questions or doubts arose.
In response I receive a call from Māris Zviedris, who reproaches my communication style and arrogance, adding: “I don’t get such questions from other media!” Fine then. I explain that it is normal for one outlet to have more information than another and that one cannot receive identical questions from all media.
The tense conversation ends with me sending the company’s registration number so that Mr. Zviedris can familiarize himself with Inc., and after a while I receive an email reply that the above-mentioned contracts have not existed, but that this person works at the CVK under an employment contract. “I don’t see how exactly your questions would be in the public interest – perhaps you could explain?” asks Zviedris.
I reply that, given the information at my disposal, it would be in the public interest to find out if the CVK is employing fictitious employees, to which I receive the answer that this is not true. Zviedris does not know that I have long since reached Ilze Bērziņa herself and she did not deny being employed at the CVK, yet she herself was also unable to answer the question of what duties she performs at this institution, saying that for questions about what she does at the CVK I should turn to Mr. Zviedris. So she had, as it were, prepared.
At the same time, it is known that Bērziņa and Freimanis have a joint business – a guesthouse called “Ārpus laika” (“Out of Time”), as well as a company “Terases mēbeles” (“Terrace Furniture”), which produces terrace furniture. Meanwhile, Bērziņa’s LinkedIn profile says something else – she has a bachelor’s degree in political science, an MBA, and a doctorate in communication and media studies, obtained at the University of Latvia. She started her career at a travel agency, then worked at airBaltic, later in the marketing department at Marienburg, and for the last 12 years has been the owner of the guesthouse Ārpus laika. Everything only around the field of marketing.
Meanwhile, Mr. Zviedris is all confused and explains that I should report possible violations of the law to law enforcement institutions, but Ms. Bērziņa is an employee who has so far “provided various services related to the improvement of the election system.” Zviedris also finds my communication inexplicably aggressive.
My interest is growing. Especially because, as a rule, an official does not lie knowing that they cannot substantiate their words. But if I’m wrong, I am prepared to admit defeat, so I offer the following:
“My communication is not aggressive – I am putting entirely direct, unambiguous questions to you. What exactly are the duties Mrs. Bērziņa has performed? I can ask one more question – if she has an employment contract, why can’t she be found in the list of employees on the CVK website? As far as I know, Bērziņa has her own business, she runs guesthouses and makes terraces, she has neither education nor experience in IT systems. That is why I am asking you logical questions that arise from the information I have received from my sources.
If you think I am asking aggressive questions, we can do it differently – could I interview Ilze Bērziņa in connection with issues of improving the election system?”
For more than an hour I watch the moving ellipsis, indicating that Māris Zviedris is writing something to me… And I receive the following message: “The duties of many employees do not require that their contacts be listed on the institution’s website. For my part, I know that in relation to election organization she has been working longer than I have. By that analogy, I myself also have no experience. Therefore, I do not see your questions as logical – I would recommend that your sources verify the information before approaching journalists with unchecked assumptions or accusations.
I will have to disappoint you – we do our work honestly and responsibly, there will be no sensation here. If you know of any fact that proves the opposite, I would be grateful if you informed me/law enforcement authorities. Thank you.”
Zviedris still does not answer whether an interview with Bērziņa regarding the election system would be possible, which I, of course, point out.
Just in case, I decide to double-check and send emails to all those involved using the traditional “vards.uzvards@cvk.lv”. I manage to send emails to Zviedris himself, to Ādamsone and also to Freimanis, but the email sent to the “computer specialist” Ilze Bērziņa bounces back with a message that such an address does not exist. Interesting – how does Zviedris communicate with this employee then, via a private email? How secure could that be in the context of elections that are already under threat?
Originally published at https://inc-baltics.com/vai-cvk-ir-fiktivi-darbinieki-visticamak-vismaz-viens/
Like
Love
Happy
Haha
Sad
