Every time Latvian State Revenue Service (VID) uncovers signs of corruption, the reaction from Minister of Finance Jānis Reirs is aggressive, said the now suspended chief of VID Ieva Jaunzeme through her advisor Andrejs Vaivars.
«I have zero tolerance when it comes to corruption! I can introduce an anti-corruption system in the service that would allow us to identify dishonest activities and catch culprits, and I can approve a capable head for the Internal Security Office and enhance this office further, as well as perform other measures, but I have no way of knowing when someone gets a criminal idea,» said Jaunzeme.
She stressed that removal of dishonest employees continues and will continue. She admitted that this problem unfortunately exists in state administration. If this problem didn’t exist, VID would not spend its budget on maintaining IDP.
«If everyone was honest, we wouldn’t need State Police,» Jaunzeme added.
She also mentioned two other aspects.
«First of all, there are still some optimists who think VID’s anti-corruption system does not extend to them and that they will never be caught. They will be! And I can say with certainty – there will be more arrests,» Jaunzeme explained.
«Secondly, I cannot go without mentioning the attitude the minister of finance has towards the work done by VID,» comments the suspended director general.
«We create an environment to make corruption impossible, we investigate, we detain, but every time there are results, when we find corruption, the ministry’s reaction is always aggressive – they claim we do nothing to prevent corruption.»
She also mentions that even though the corruption case has yet to be submitted to the court, but the minister has already found the guilty.
«Yes, we have detained many in recent time. But why is that?! Because VID has been actively working on this problem these past several years. And because VID is a state institution that has its own Internal Security Service, which operates with support from the director general. Which other institution has one?» adds Jaunzeme.
She also does not believe the alternative is ignoring corruption despite the aggression aimed against her.
Jaunzeme also believes the Ministry of Finance was the one who ordered the chief of VID reinstate the customs officer previously dismissed for dishonest activities.
At the same time, Jaunzeme hopes the recent detainees will not be reinstated.
More on this topic: Head of Latvian State Revenue Service dismissed by Minister of Finance