The Riga Regional Court has upheld the acquittal of former Health Minister Ilze Viņķele, who had been charged with official misconduct. The prosecutor’s appeal of the Riga City Court’s initial decision was unsuccessful,confirming Viņķele’s innocence.The charges against Viņķele, brought by the Department for Oversight of Prosecutorial Activities and International Cooperation, stemmed from allegations that she failed to develop a complete Covid-19 vaccination strategy for Latvia. This strategy was intended to cover crucial aspects such as vaccine procurement, storage, logistics, responsibilities, and necessary medical resources for the vaccination campaign.
The prosecution contended that Viņķele was aware of the global availability of Covid-19 vaccines in 2021 and Latvia’s participation in a joint EU procurement agreement.They argued that it was her duty to establish a national vaccination strategy before decisions on vaccine quantities where finalized. The prosecution further claimed that her failure to do so constituted neglect of official duties, causing significant harm to public interests.
The case highlighted issues with Latvia’s vaccine procurement. In November 2020, the EU offered member states the opportunity to acquire Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines through centralized procurement.According to the Ministry of Health’s disciplinary board, Latvia opted to order only 97,500 doses out of an available 841,342 in the first round, and 100,000 out of 420,707 in the subsequent round. This resulted in a slower vaccination rollout compared to other EU nations.
Following the revelation of these decisions, then-Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš requested Viņķele’s resignation. Later, an investigation was launched, leading to the official misconduct charges.
Internal investigations within the Ministry of Health also led to disciplinary actions against former State Agency of Medicines director Svens Henkuzens and former ministry state secretary Daina Mūrmane-Umbraško.while the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) initially decided not to open a criminal case, a re-evaluation of procurement decisions initiated by then-Prosecutor General Juris Stukāns led to the commencement of a criminal case.