Official charges in vaccine procurement criminal procedure expected to come soon

Official charges in the criminal procedure regarding Covid-19 vaccine procurement are expected to come soon, as Diena was told by Latvian Prosecutor General Juris Stukāns.
A result should come in the nearest future, said Stukāns, adding that several officials have been presented with charges since the start of the criminal procedure. It is likely the charges are related to Section 319 of the Criminal Law – negligence in official duties.
When asked to explain if charges could be presented to politicians as well, such as ex-Minister of Health Ilze Viņķele, Stukāns said she was interviewed by the police. «All information will be evaluated. I won’t comment further, but I believe the result should come in January, because there’s been enough time to go through everything to avoid any misunderstandings. After discussing it with the investigator and prosecutors, they said the saw signs of negligence in this criminal case,» said Stukāns.
The prosecutor general said he is not aware if there are any other criminal procedures commenced over similar procurements.
State Police Public Relations Office reports pre-trial investigation in this criminal case continues. The police do not provide more comments because it is currently unknown when the case could be submitted to court.
As previously reported, in May 2021 the office of the prosecutor commenced a criminal procedure over possible negligence in relation to the first procurement of Covid-19 vaccines. The possible responsibility of ministers is also evaluated, as the prosecutor general reported at a previous government meeting.
Following the decision of the office of the prosecutor the decisions made by the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) on refusal to commence a criminal process over the procurement of vaccines were cancelled.
The criminal procedure was commenced following Part 1 of Section 319 of the Criminal Law. The law states that officials who fail to perform their assigned duties are to be punished with prison sentence of up to three years, community service or a fine.
As previously reported, in March 2021 the prosecutor general declared it necessary for the Prosecutor of the Department for the Protection of Persons and State Rights to evaluate the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines. The examination will include the 9 March decision of KNAB to refuse commencement of a criminal procedure over the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines.
In the first procurement, Latvia had access to up to 860 000 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine Comirnaty. However, in the end officials in Latvia decided to procure only 97 500 doses. In the next procurement stage Latvia had access to 430 000 vaccine doses from this producer. The country signed up for 100 000 doses.
LTV previously reported that at the end of last year an informal healthcare sector work group decided to procure only half of the amount of doses offered by Moderna – 336 566.