One released, one remanded in IT procurement case

Jorens Liopa, who was arrested in a criminal case related to IT procurement, has been remanded in custody as a precautionary measure, the Riga Regional Court ruled on Wednesday, April 1st. Liopa is the former director of the State Digital Development Agency and was arrested in mid-March in a criminal case initiated by the European Public Prosecutor's Office.

Meanwhile, the Riga Regional Court has lifted the detention imposed on Aigars Ceruss, the owner and manager of the "Corporate Solutions" group of companies, and no other security measure has been applied to him at present, Ceruss's lawyer Guntars Precinieks informed Latvian Television. He predicted that Cerus will be released from Riga Central Prison in the near future.

Police have arrested a total of 21 people, including public officials, in a case opened by the European Public Prosecutor's Office for alleged fraud in IT procurement worth more than 1.5 million euros.

The prosecutor's office said that the members of the organized group had agreed to ensure that contracts were awarded to pre-selected companies, after which the illegally obtained profits were divided among the accomplices. Investigators suspect that the contracts were illegally secured with the help of public officials.

Latvian Television's programme "De facto" has reported that former VDAA director Liopa, owner and manager of the "Corporate Solutions" group of companies Aigars Ceruss, and public procurement specialist Ainars Biders were detained in this case.

At the same time, the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has initiated parallel criminal proceedings for the alleged disclosure of undisclosed information related to IT procurement. Information related to IT procurement in various state institutions was revealed to a businessman by two state officials.