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International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Friday, 26.04.2024, 06:39

EUR 73,761 missing from Latvian Literature Center's accounts

BC, Riga, 13.10.2015.Print version
Following an audit of projects funded by the State Culture Capital Foundation in 2014 and 2015 and implemented by the Latvian Literature Center (LLC), the Culture Capital Foundation has determined that a total of EUR 73,761.16 was missing from the LLC accounts, as the Culture Capital Foundation's representative Jana Verdina informed LETA.

Previously the Culture Ministry and Culture Capital Foundation halted payments into the LLC accounts after ascertaining "complete chaos" in the LLC's accounting and financial documents. The Culture Ministry said that, based on the LLC's reports, the total remaining amount of the ministry's funds transferred to the LLC should have been EUR 8,813.92, while the actual amount was just EUR 34.03. The ministry also determined that the head of the LLC, Janis Oga had made himself an advance payment of EUR 62,000 from the LLC's funds.

 

It has been impossible to determine where the missing funds of the Culture Capital Foundation went, explained Verdina. That is why the council of the Culture Capital Foundation will meet on October 22 to vote on halting cooperation with the LLC and taking action to retrieve the unaccounted-for money.

 

During the audit, documents concerning nine projects financed by the Culture Capital Foundation were examined, which were estimated to cost EUR 236,000 in total. According to audit findings, the Culture Capital Foundation had paid the LLC a total of EUR 183,284 of the said cost. Of this amount, the LLC's reports covered EUR 109,612.84, EUR 73,671.16 was unaccounted for, and EUR 23 was remaining in the LLC's account as of October 5.

 

Seven of these projects were run by the LLC's head Oga. Only one of these projects had all papers in order – Latvia's participation in international book fairs in 2015. Likewise, no funds were missing in a project that dealt with organization of a prose readings festival by Baiba Koemeca. There are no reports about Latvia's participation in the "Review of Small Literatures" festival in Croatia, run by the LLC project manager Juta Piraga.

 

The audit also concluded that the LLC had submitted no documents to the Culture Capital Foundation that would make the foundation certain about the LLC's ability to implement the projects funded by the Culture Capital Foundation by the agreed deadline.

 

According to the audit findings, the LLC had breached the agreement with the Culture Capital Foundation by spending the Culture Capital Foundation's funds for purposes other than those stated in the agreement, and that the LLC had not submitted correct reports and documents to the Culture Capital Foundation.

 

The audit was carried out October 2 to 9, after the Culture Capital Foundation ascertained that interim reports submitted by the LLC did not fully cover the estimated cost of the foundation's projects.






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