Energy, Financial Services, Latvia, Legislation

According to Sokolova, Skonto buve has filed a lawsuit at Riga City Northern District Court, requesting the Environmental Service to pay the disputed amount plus interest – EUR 1.85 million in total.

"The company informed the State Environmental Service about delayed payments already one week ago, after receiving a letter from the service in which the institution unreasonably questions the legitimacy of four-year-old documents from Swedbank," says Sokolova. "Because Swedbank representatives confirmed the validity of the documents already on July 3, while the State Environmental Service has still not made the delayed payments, the company decided to file a claim in court."

"Furthermore, instead of making the payment before the deadline as stipulated in the agreement, the State Environmental Service chose to violate the contract, informing the public about it and urging the company to "be understanding and wait"," Sokolova goes on. "Thus, not only has the State Environmental Service acted against the provisions of the contract, but it has also caused losses to the state – the contract stipulates a EUR 12,892 penalty for delayed payments or EUR 1,841 for each day the service has missed its payment."

As reported, the agreement with Skonto buve on liquidation of acid waste ponds and rehabilitation of the affected area in Incukalns County was signed in September 2014, the original amount meant for the project was EUR 28.49 million. In 2014, the agreement was altered to increase the amount to EUR 42.67 million.