Financial Services, Latvia, Legislation, Lithuania, Port, Transport

"G.K., as a representative of the Latvian company that has won a few construction contracting tenders at the directorate of the Klaipeda state seaport estimated at more than 10 million euros, has paid a bribe of more than more than 250 minimum standards of living (EUR 9,500) to G.Z. in a few counts," the Lithuanian Special Investigation Service said.

The SIS investigation is conducted in cooperation with the Latvian anti-corruption agency KNAB. Kamkalovs and Zumaras were detained on Thursday in the framework of the probe, SIS agents also searched the Klaipeda port's directorate.

A simultaneous operation and other procedural actions took place in Latvia. KNAB detained six individuals holding high posts in one of Latvia's biggest concerns and conducted about 20 searches, seizing documents that are significant for the probe and more than 100,000 euros in cash, Lithuania's SIS said. No names or corporate names have been disclosed.

Lithuania's Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius, currently on a visit in Klaipeda, told journalists on Friday that the SIS had also raided the office of Klaipeda port CEO Arvydas Vaitkus on Thursday. In Butkevicius' words, employees of the staff will have to answer, if the suspicions prove correct. He said he did not know any further details yet.

Latvijas Tilti has won a number of contracts at the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda – together with Borta construction company of the Lithuanian Kaminera group recently won a 11.7 million euro tender to deepen the Malku bay, while the consortium of BMGS and Lithuania's Hidrostatyba should reconstruct the embankments of Bega stevedoring company for 14.952 million euros. Furthermore, Latvijas Tilti built the embankment of the passenger terminal at the Klaipeda port in 2013 for 32.36 million euros.