The police have opened a criminal case on suspicion that a funeral company may have been dishonestly receiving state benefits for the funeral of the deceased for unrelated persons. The fact has come to the attention of the police after the disappearance of several stateless persons from the hospital morgue, reports the Latvian Television program “de facto”.
According to the law on the burial of stateless persons, the municipality is responsible and in Riga their cremation is performed by a company selected in the procurement according to the principle of the lowest price. However, it is possible that funerals, by accessing personal data, find out what the state benefit would be if they undertook to bury as relatives and choose the most financially advantageous route.
Last November, the funeral company “Ozir” received a notification from Stradiņš Hospital about several dead people, to whom no relatives have applied. The agreement concluded with the Riga Municipality on October 24, 2019 provided that in such cases Ozir would place an announcement in the publication “Latvijas Vēstnesis” regarding the recognition of a person as an orphan deceased. And ten days later the cream of the dead. As relatives did not report, the funerals went to the hospital after the two dead. However, it was no longer in the morgue.
Sanita Heinsberga, a representative of SIA Ozir, says that when she went to the hospital morgue, it was established that there were no such dead persons dead.
In fact, they have already been issued, but the hospital representatives have not been informed that there is a new trader entitled to provide this service, and they have been issued to the trader of the previous contract.
A week earlier, the two dead had been removed by the company “Funeral Home – Crematorium”. At the same time, an advertisement placed by this company in the “Latvijas Vēstnesis” appeared, in order to recognize one of those removed from the hospital morgue as useless. The announcement mentions several more dead persons who were in the morgue of the State Forensic Medicine Examination Center at that time. Deportees are also removed from it by the municipal contractual partner. The center confirms that it sent the data of the deceased to the company that previously provided the services. But it has apparently not replied that the contract has expired and should be addressed to others.
“It simply came to our notice then. As a trader who no longer has a contractual framework, how does he find the desire to continue doing what he is not required to do? This is not a charity situation, ”says Sanita Heinsberga, a representative of SIA Ozir.
However, where is the business if the chances of relatives who will cover the costs of cremation will be relatively low, but there is no longer a contract with the municipality?
It is suspected that the funeral home in such a situation applies as a funeral director to the State Social Insurance Agency (SSIA), except for a funeral benefit of two salaries or a pension.
If this amount is minimal or not at all, the missing funeral expenses can be paid by the Riga Municipality, the total amount not exceeding 430 euros. But there are cases when the benefit can exceed even a thousand euros. But in order to apply to the SSIA, the funeraler does not need a death certificate or a power of attorney from relatives to withdraw the benefit.
Anita Jakseboga, a senior expert of the Methodological Management Department of Benefits of the SSIA, explains: “We grant the funeral benefit on the basis of the application of the benefit applicant and taking into account the OCMA information about the person’s death. (..) This is a benefit that we grant and pay quite quickly, because this money is needed at the time when the deceased is to be buried. ”
And it may turn out to be a much more profitable deal than the 100 euros for which the municipal procurement “Funeral Home – Crematorium” had previously committed to cremate the stateless dead.
During the term of the previous agreement (2018/2019), “Funeral Home – Crematorium” in the “Latvijas Vēstnesis” declared about 154 dead as useless. The “de facto” list of the deceased was handed over to the State Social Insurance Agency, asking for information on how many of them had claimed funeral benefits, which could theoretically mean that a relative had appeared. And the answer was surprising – it turned out that in more than half of the cases, people had appeared who were ready to bury the dead who seemed to be without relatives.
According to the SSIA, out of 154 cases, benefits have been claimed at least 85 times. Of these, benefits were granted in 55 cases and denied in 30 cases due to non-existent social contributions or pensions.
In fact, during the term of the agreement with the Riga Municipality, SIA “Apbedīšanas nams – krematorija” buried 97 people at the expense of the municipality. For comparison, during the term of the next agreement with SIA “Ozir” relatives were in only one tenth of the cases or 16 per 116 deaths.
Sergejs Pizāns, the owner of the company “Apbedīšanas nams – krematorija” and the chairman of the board, did not answer the questions asked in the “de facto” e-mail, merely stating that he carries out his work in compliance with the relevant laws and regulations governing the industry. Answers are also missed in the phone call. We could not meet him on the spot.
The police have also been asked to check the company’s actions. It initially refused to initiate criminal proceedings, but the prosecutor’s office considered that the information had been incompletely verified in order to reach such a decision and annulled it.
Criminal proceedings have been instituted for the incident pursuant to Section 177, Paragraph one of the Criminal Law – for the acquisition of foreign property or the right to such property by abusing trust or by deception (fraud). Such a criminal offense is punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to three years or by temporary deprivation of liberty, or by forced labor, or by a fine.
“De facto” it was not possible to ascertain whether any of the deceased had been buried both at the expense of the municipality and at the same time claiming to cover the funeral expenses of the state as well.
“We had such information last year, we wanted to find out if it was happening, but the SSIA wrote last October that there was no justification for giving such information. We are not close relatives. And if we are expected to pay, bury, that’s all, ”says Anatoly Alexeyenko, Director of the RD Housing and Environment Department (Honor to serve Riga!).
In one case, it was suspected that the deceased was buried at the expense of the municipality, but when the relative appeared and claimed the benefit, it had already been removed. This was followed by a submission from the Cemetery Authority to the police, but very soon a refusal to start an investigation.
Igors Svincickis, Head of the Cemetery Department of the Housing and Environment Department of the Riga City Council: “We do not have such information about the benefits, and the Cabinet of Ministers envisages a short term for cremation and burial, but the benefit can be claimed within six months after death.”
The representative of the State Social Insurance Agency emphasizes that the motivated request would have been answered. But in general, she does not see whether and how interinstitutional cooperation could be improved, so that it is not the case that a cheap contract is concluded with the municipality for cremation, but the service is actually provided at the expense of state benefits.
It is possible that the situation could be changed if advertisements for the recognition of the deceased as stateless were placed by the municipality, thus preventing funeral companies from also having access to information about possible personal benefits and whether relatives have applied.
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