Latvia’s State Revenue Service (VID) currently investigates six more employees over suspicions of possible violations. More people may end up detained soon, said the suspended director general of VID Ieva Jaunzeme in an interview to Spried ar Delfi programme.
She said that every year VID Internal Security Service investigates an average of a dozen cases dealing with situations in which VID employees may have acted illegally. Jaunzeme explained that in most cases those are experienced employees, referred to by Jaunzeme as «heritage of the past».
She mentioned during the interview that complaints about employees are received rather often – both in regards to quality of service and in the form of possible violations.
Currently there are more than six cases under investigation. These cases detail possible violations committed by employees. The suspended VID director general predicts more people may end up detained by authorities soon.
Jaunzeme also mentioned in an interview that she learned about the involvement of VID employees in the bribe extortion case in June. However, she says she did not intervene and did not act to dismiss those employees in order to not interfere with the investigation.
She said she is not trying to avoid responsibility. At the same time, she said she is not in charge of the Tax and Customs Police. Last year Tax and Customs police was the only unit within VID that had actually increased wages for its employees. ‘If a person cannot work honestly and comes instead to make money, such a person has no place here,’ said Jaunzeme.
She also said she is prepared to return to her duties as head of VID. Jaunzeme said she and her lawyer are currently going through legal framework in order to challenge Minister of Finance Jānis Reirs’ decision to suspend her.
As for cooperation with Reirs, Jaunzeme said it is generally good, adding that relations became strained after VID employee Kaspars Čerņeckis became the minister’s advisor.
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As previously reported, there are suspicions that multiple employees of the State Revenue Service may be involved in the criminal case regarding bribe extortion.