2024-04-24 01:53:45
KNAB confirmed to LETA agency that on April 18, in response to the received information about the possible long-term provision of free services by one company to the political party “Vienotība”, the office started a departmental inspection.
According to the regulatory framework, legal entities are prohibited from financing political organizations in any way, including providing services to them without compensation. If these actions are carried out, they are considered illegal financing of a political organization in the sense of the Law on Financing of Political Organizations, the office informed.
In addition, the KNAB stated that in order to initiate criminal proceedings for possible illegal financing of the party, the illegal donation must be made in a large amount, which is 50 minimum monthly wages or 35,000 euros.
TV3’s program “Neka personaliska” reported on Sunday that “Vienotība” has been using the system created by the IT company “SOAAR” for elections in congresses for eight years free of charge.
Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (JV) emphasized that she does not have such facts and that the situation is from 2011, when she was a member of another political force – Zatler’s Reform Party.
The member of the board of “Vienotības” stated that the law enforcement authorities are currently also evaluating the activities of “SOAAR” itself, and the politician admits that they will also evaluate the relevant “one-sided” statements about “Vienotības”.
“SOAAR” is involved in a criminal case for possible embezzlement of the budget funds of the Central Election Commission (CVK) on a large scale, in which the prosecutor’s office brought charges against the former chairman of the Central Election Commission, Kristīne Bērziņa, two other employees of the commission and a representative of “SOAAR”. In the assessment of the Office for the Prevention and Combating of Corruption (KNAB), these persons probably performed actions so that the specific information technology company would obtain the right to provide services in the 2021 municipal elections as a result of the procurement negotiation procedure.
The former office manager of “Vienotības” Normunds Orleāns has said that the party has threatened businessmen in order to receive services for free. “Nothing personal” reports that it is about the company “SOAAR”, which is said to be required to provide electronic vote counting at “Vienotības” congresses.
The TV3 program “Nothing personal” reported that the technical support of “SOAAR” cost the party more than 20,000 euros, but the political force did not pay for it. Renārs Kadžulis, a member of the company’s board, claims that services have been requested from him since 2011, until 2020 he refused and asked to pay. Soon after, he allegedly started having problems with law enforcement authorities, which have now resulted in four criminal trials.
The communication is said to have taken place with the representative of “Vienotības” Sanita Stelpi-Segliņa, but the main organizer was the general secretary of the party at the time, Artis Kampars. Kadžulis is said to have written e-mails to Kampar, to which there were no replies from Kampar, as all communication was done by telephone or in person. Only Stelpe-Segliņa communicated electronically, but these e-mails were about technical details.
Claiming that he no longer remembers many details, Kampars admitted that the vote counting system was handed over to the party for testing and testing in the initial period. “After that, there should also be payments, most likely. I don’t remember so many payments by heart as to who paid what,” Kampars added. On the other hand, Kadžulis now claims that he understood the situation as follows – “since we ensure the state elections, we are also obliged to ensure the elections for them, because the state has already paid for it”.
In 2011, a contract was prepared for a symbolic amount – 50 lats. However, it has not been signed and payment has not been received. In subsequent years, the contracts are no longer mentioned.
“SOARR” has ensured 47 election procedures in 13 “Vienotības” events – eight general meetings and five congresses of the Riga branch – during eight years. The businessman calculates that it cost him around 22,000 euros. The service has not been reported by the party and is not recorded as a donation or service. In the declarations of the party from 2014, the item – the costs of organizing the congress – appears.
2024-04-24 01:53:45