Head of Latvian Defense Logistics Center Suspended / Article

“Yes, we are now at the stage where the military police have initiated this investigation and we expect that the criminal proceedings will proceed responsibly and with all the appropriate conclusions,” confirmed Defense Minister Andris Sprūds (Progressive).

VALIC provides logistics for material and technical assets in the defense sector, including procurement for the Ministry’s institutions and the National Armed Forces (NBS). Minister Sprūds refrained from revealing the exact subject of the investigation.

“It is clear that no further statements will be made during the ongoing criminal proceedings. The only thing I can confirm is that the head of VALIC has been suspended and a new acting head of VALIC has been appointed,” Sprūds said.

The ministry explains that Kopeika’s suspension was requested by a duly authorized official. In his place, the duties of the head of VALIC were transferred to the Director General of the Latvian Geoinformation Agency, Mārtiņš Liberts.

Unofficial information available to “De Facto” shows that the investigation against Kopeika was initiated not for procurement, but for paperwork.

According to public sources, in the first year of the Covid pandemic, at the end of May 2020, the US Embassy presented Latvian government officials with hand sanitizers and disposable gloves as gifts for the safe conduct of centralized examinations in Latvian schools.

With the donation of 13,500 euros from the US European Command Cooperation Program, 1,000 liters of hand disinfectant and 22,500 pairs of gloves were purchased. The schools were supplied by the National Armed Forces in collaboration with the local authorities.

The donation was initially recorded on the balance sheet of another institution, the National Center for Defense Military Objects and Procurement. After the reorganization, the disinfectants and gloves that had been distributed to schools for a long time were handed over to VALIC under the leadership of Kopeika. There is therefore the possibility that criminal proceedings have been initiated due to incorrect write-offs.

Officially, the Bundeswehr only confirmed that the military police had initiated an investigation against a person for falsifying his service.

Kopeika, who was suspended from his post, refused to discuss the circumstances of the investigation in a brief telephone conversation with De Facto, but made it clear that he believes that the opening of the case against him is related to his checks with the authorities.

“Basically, the officials in charge of procurement control find a case that is X years old and then it was pulled out at exactly that time when I was investigating, I think, more important things. And, miraculously, so did the relatives of the people involved.” “There are also a lot of coincidences at play in this case,” said Kopeika.

He claims that he has been scrutinizing the procurement of defense equipment since the beginning of the year and has uncovered significant irregularities – both document falsifications and possible collusion. He also says he has identified the real culprits behind the €220 million food procurement.

“The case against me has been going on for some time. If this case, why I was suspended, had come to light at another time, all due respect. I’m not shirking my responsibility. If I have violated something, I will answer,” says the suspended Kopeika.

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