reveals the illegal use of at least 220,000 euros

According to VK, the information obtained during the audit shows that the then Prime Minister Kariņš, as well as the Prime Minister’s Office and the State Chancellery under his direct authority, were actually involved in the decision-making and implementation of the use of special flights on foreign missions. At that time, the Prime Minister’s office was headed by the current member of the Saeima, Jānis Patmalnieks (JV), while the State Chancellery is headed by Jānis Citskovskis.

In the opinion of VK, the responsibility of all involved persons for the decisions made to use special flights should be assessed. At the same time, the VC states that it is not possible to identify specific responsible persons who made decisions about the use of special flights during the foreign business trips of the Prime Minister and the delegation using audit methods.

The SC has given recommendations on how to correct the situation, but information about illegalities has been handed over to the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Procurement Supervision Office.

In total, VK evaluated 53 business trips of Kariņas, of which 21 were made by regular flights, and in 32 cases special flights were used.

Out of all the special flights, 18 were paid for from the state budget in the amount of 613,830 euros, while 14 flights to European Council meetings were paid for both from the budget of the EU Council in the amount of 527,781 euros and from the state budget in the amount of 40,550 euros. In special flights, the number of delegation members has been from four to eight persons, including the Prime Minister, and in 17 business trips with special flights, the delegation also included a photographer.

The State Audit Office states that the idea that special flights are ordered for urgent foreign visits is a myth. The Prime Minister’s Office ordered special flights on time – in one case one day before the business trip, in 19 cases six to ten days, in seven cases 11 to 16 days, and in five cases 17 to 37 days before the business trip.