Thursday, April 16, 2026

Headlines

information technology

State Secretary of the Ministry of Environmental Protection involved in IT scandal temporarily suspended from office

Taking into account the public interest regarding publicly available information about a possible involvement in the unlawful transfer of restricted-access information related to IT procurements, the Minister for Smart Administration and Regional Development, Raimonds Čudars, has suspended the Ministry of Environmental Protection state secretary Edvīns Balševics from performing his official duties, the ministry informs. “Within the framework of the investigation, it is important to ensure that all persons involved in the violations of law are brought to justice, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the State Regional Development Agency fully […]

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 […]

One of those detained in the EPPO criminal proceedings could be the Deputy Director of the State Social Insurance Agency, Arvis Širaks

One of the 21 persons detained in the criminal proceedings initiated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) may be Arvis Širaks. He cannot be reached on his mobile phone today, and the VDAA landline is also disconnected. His deputy Jolanda Mustermane is also unreachable – there is silence on both of their phones. According to information available to Inc., Širaks has not come to work today. A VDAA representative of the Administrative […]

Procedural actions are being carried out involving the state secretary of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Balševics, Liopa and the entrepreneur Ceruss

In connection with the development and operation of IT systems in the 2025 municipal elections, law enforcement authorities this evening are carrying out procedural actions at the Ministry of Environmental Protection state secretary Edvīns Balševics, according to information available to Inc. Procedural actions are also being carried out at the former head of the State Regional Development Agency (VRAA), Jorens Liopa, as well as the businessman, owner of Corporate Solutions group, Aigars Ceruss. Asked what the businessman has to do with […]

The solution for obtaining biometric data for Estonian e-residents will be developed by a Latvian company

Latvian software developer X Infotech has won the tender for developing a technical solution to capture e-residents’ biometric data using mobile devices, announced the Information Technology and Development Center of the Estonian Ministry of the Interior (SMIT). Starting from 2027, the application under development will allow e-residency applicants to securely confirm their identity using a smartphone app. Submitting biometric data via the mobile app will make e-residency […]

New technology will help prevent power grid overload

To streamline the management of production and consumption capacity in the power grid, the Latvian energy technology startup Engycell, in cooperation with AS Sadales tīkls, has developed an innovation – a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) algorithm that enables dynamic management of BESS charging and discharging decisions depending on the real-time situation of the distribution transformer in the power grid. The aim of the pilot project is to find new solutions for how to use digital technologies to efficiently utilize all […]

Rolls-Royce social network

Car manufacturers’ apps, through which you can monitor a car’s technical condition, order various services and communicate with the manufacturer, have long been nothing new. The exclusive carmaker Rolls-Royce has turned this into a multimillionaires’ social network. This August in Riga was Rolls-Royce month – the owners of the antique Phantom model stopped here as part of a trip celebrating its 100th anniversary […]

How an industry dies out

The amendments to the Carriers Law adopted eight years ago, which were supposed to regulate ride-sharing, have ended in failure, and the situation in the taxi sector has now reached critical mass. Since 2019, the number of issued taxi license cards has halved, the VAT paid to the state, despite inflation, has not changed, and the amendments to the law have not achieved their goal. Instead, the once regulated taxis (with yellow […]

The first private artificial intelligence supercomputer cluster in the Baltics has been created

The domestic technology company Datakom and its specialized artificial intelligence department AI Datacenter Engineers have created the first private high-performance supercomputer cluster designed for running and training artificial intelligence models, informs Jūlija Pīlēna, Datakom’s marketing manager. The Datakom supercomputer cluster consists of a combination of two devices that reach a capacity of two petaflops. This means that this device every second […]

A historic deficit has begun in the computer components market

The memory shortage caused by the rapid development of artificial intelligence and data centers around the world has reached a historic level. In the business sector, computer hardware prices could increase by about 30% next year, while in the open market the rise is expected to be even sharper, an expert forecasts, pointing to significant challenges for clients in Latvia and abroad. In the global memory market, the shortage has become so great that […]