Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Headlines

conflict of interest

The procurement documents of the E-case project perfectly demonstrate how the networking of detained individuals works in IT procurements

The Court Administration’s (TA) information system E-lieta, with related procurements that began back in 2017, perfectly demonstrates how the network of individuals operates, some of whom were detained this week. Documents show that officials and companies themselves both draw up the specifications, sit on the procurement commission, and choose the winners. The E-lieta example is only one example, but in essence the same people and […]

Stiga RM employee simultaneously also an independent consultant in the Ministry of Agriculture’s forestry consulting program

At the end of last year, we wrote about how senior employees of LVM, who were directly involved in decision-making on the organization of procurements and the drafting of tender documents at the state-owned company “Latvijas valsts meži”, went to work for one of the industry’s entrepreneurs, including one about whom they had made decisions while at the state company. However, this is not the only situation that shows how some entrepreneurs have become intertwined with ministries […]

“Stiga RM” new employees could have conflicts of interest; a loophole in the law allows the Anti-Corruption Bureau not to assess and not to establish them

At the beginning of this year, longtime deputy director for wood product sales at AS Latvijas Valsts meži (LVM), Andris Meirāns, changed jobs. Mr. Meirāns held a responsible position: he developed auction and pricing rules and regulations, effectively determining what, to whom, for how much, and under what conditions LVM would sell and deliver timber. For this responsible work Mr. Meirāns was accordingly […]

When SIF is not enough…

Then the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) can also be used. In Latvia, the authority delegated for this fund is the Ministry of Culture. The managing authority of the fund is the Ministry of the Interior, while the auditing authority is the Ministry of Finance. This fund is mainly financed from European Union resources; however, it also requires national co‑financing, which makes up 25%. “The general objective of the project is through […]

The State Audit Office might have difficulties auditing the MAF, because the State Auditor’s wife is involved in evaluating media projects

“Ploka was driven to despair by all of this. She had turned to the State Audit Office with a request to carry out an audit of the SIF. Zaiga [Pūce–ed.] left and that was a good moment. The State Audit Office said “no”, and I think that one of the reasons is that Zitmane is the wife of the Auditor General. If they start digging there, it may turn out that she is there […]