even 240 euros per hour from “Rīgas satiksme” / Article / LSM.lv

The boldness of the politically close – it could describe what happened in the structures and capital companies of the Riga City Council for several years. “Rīgas namu pārvaldnieks”, “Rīgas satiksme”, Riga Tourism Development Bureau – all these structures have active criminal proceedings for misappropriation of property, reminds the Latvian Television program “de facto”. Although several Latvian politicians can be blamed for their placement in warm positions, the political consultants of the Riga City Council have stood out with a special scope. A vivid example: if you believe what a former “Harmony” youth activist said about his responsibilities in “Rīgas satiksme”, these consultations have allowed him to earn even over 240 euros per hour.

IN SHORT:

• More than 193 thousand euros could have been fraudulent in the salaries of 12 employees;
• Among the consultants were Riga councilors, employees of Ushakov’s office, young people of “Sadarbas”, journalists and even the chairman of the Riga Election Commission;
• It is known de facto that Futs received 17.6 thousand euros or more than 2.9 thousand euros per month from Rīgas satiksme for a six-month contract.

When the State Police had sent the case of the “Riga House Manager” (RNP) to the Prosecutor’s Office in the spring of 2017, the former mayor of Riga and the leader of “Harmony” Nils Ušakovs categorically denied journalists: “I still have no information that someone in the RNP would work fictitiously in this department. I cannot say that all people in all companies, all institutions, all departments in Riga municipality work equally well, but fictitious employees – in my opinion, there is no such information. ”

Ushakov’s anger may have been caused by the fact that the police handed over the case, which was initiated after the audit of the State Audit Office, to the prosecutor’s office a month and a half before the previous municipal elections. In the criminal proceedings, several people related to “Saskaņu” appeared as possible fictitious employees of the RNP Development Projects Department. For example, former Riga councilor Svetlana Savicka, son of the then council deputies Zhanna Pankratova and Aleksandra Klementjeva, son of Ušakov’s former press secretary Sandra Točs, Mārtiņš, also the head of the portal “stolen.com” Ivan Stalnojs.

In total, more than 193 thousand euros could have been fraudulent in the salaries of 12 employees during the year. In the prosecutor’s office, charges were brought not only against employees, but also against two officials. The first is Agnis Kalnkaziņš, a former head of the department, a member of the party “Honor to Serve Riga”. Shortly after losing his RNP position in 2015, he was appointed to the Board of Rīgas ūdens, where he worked until this summer, when his five-year term of office expired. Inga Bulgarina, a former member of the RNP board, who, in the opinion of the prosecutor’s office, abused her position and organized a criminal offense, is also accused. It is she who has commissioned to create fictitious staff positions in the Development Projects Division, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Bulgarina, Kalnkaziņš and the other accused will appear in court at the very end of August – immediately after the extraordinary elections of the Riga City Council. RNP as a victim in this case has not applied. The company already knows for sure that it has had fictitious employment. Already three years ago, Olga Mūrniece, a former employee, pleaded guilty to the prosecutor’s office, reimbursing RNP the 7.4 thousand euros obtained by crime as a salary.

In the case of the “Riga House Manager”, the police had to investigate what had been done by ten state employees over a period of one year. There may be even more work for investigators in the case of “Rīgas satiksme” consultants. The Organized Crime Control Department of the State Police has been investigating criminal proceedings for a possible large-scale waste of “Rīgas satiksme” funds for a year and a half, which is related to concluding fictitious consultation agreements. The scope of work for the police in this case was initially quite wide: at least 40 consultants over a four-year period

Last year, the “de facto” repeatedly told about the incomprehensible consulting agreements of “Rīgas satiksme”, which in many cases were concluded with the members of “Harmony” or “Honor to serve Riga”, as well as with Ushakov’s associates and friends. Questions were raised by the need of Rīgas satiksme for such services in general, as well as the process of finding consultants, as well as the remuneration and the amount of work done.

Among the consultants were Riga councilors, employees of Ushakov’s office, young people of “S Harmonas”, journalists and even the chairman of the Riga Election Commission. “Rīgas satiksme” even needed those involved in criminal proceedings or scandals, such as Ivan Stalnoy, accused in the RNP case, and Uģis Broža, a former official of the Traffic Department.

A vivid example of hiring one’s own is the former activist of the “Harmony” youth association “Restart.lv” Aleksejs Futs, who in the spring of 2019 worked in the Public Relations Department of the Riga City Council. From June to November 2018, Rīgas satiksme hired him to advise customer service center operators and audit their performance. In 2019, Futs “de facto” refused to disclose his remuneration to “Rīgas satiksme”, but told about his responsibilities as follows: “Well, there I work with counseling centers, if, how better for them to talk to clients. (..) I came to the centers, yes, to the service centers, and I consulted there. (..) Two or three times a month. (..) Well, what about 3-4 hours [katra konsultācija]. (..) They were like seminars. ”

At that time, de facto did not yet have complete information on the remuneration paid to consultants. However, it is now “de facto” known that Futs received 17.6 thousand euros or more than 2.9 thousand euros per month from “Rīgas satiksme” for a six-month contract. If you believe what Futa told you about the amount of work, you can easily calculate that he earned at least 240 euros per hour for his consultations.

In its turn, the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) is still investigating the case regarding the Riga City Council foundation “Riga Tourism Development Bureau” (RTAB). In the opinion of the KNAB, its officials may have wasted the foundation’s financial resources in large amounts, for example, by concluding fictitious cooperation agreements and paying private expenses; forged and used forged documents; employed bogus employees, as well as illegally defrauded financial resources in large amounts. The State Audit Office also saw the possible fictitious employment of seven employees in its audit; according to its calculations, in the period from 2016 to 2018, a total of 340 thousand euros was paid to them.

Two former Riga councilors who served on the RTAB board are suspected in this criminal proceeding: Vita Jermoloviča from “Honor to Serve Riga” and Maksims Tolstoy from “S Harmonas”. Several employees of the office were also connected with the former parties of the Riga City Council. The direction to which the KNAB also pays attention in this case is RTAB’s agreements with the companies of the German consultant Luca Meier at a time when the party “S Harmona” led by the then Mayor of Riga Ušakovs was attracted to their work with the Saeima election campaign. The total amount that Meier companies in different countries could have received from the Riga City Council foundation reaches up to 300,000 euros. The search also took place in the offices of a German consultant both in Berlin and in other countries. Meier still doesn’t want to talk about the case – when he called, he stopped the phone call immediately after the “de facto” request to comment.

It is known “de facto” that there is another branch in the RTAB case, which partially overlaps with the RNP elevator repair case currently being investigated by the State Police. Namely, the traces of possible money laundering under investigation in the elevator case are being taken to foreign companies, which have a connection with other foreign consultants of the “Svarkas” Saeima election campaign.

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