RIGA, July 22 (LETA) - The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) conducted searches today at the Bauska Hospital and the Jelgava City Hospital, according to information available to LETA.

A statement from EPPO released by KNAB reports that today, KNAB, in cooperation with EPPO, carried out criminal investigative actions, including searches, in a criminal investigation that EPPO launched in the spring of 2026 based on information provided by KNAB.

The criminal proceedings are investigating possible large-scale fraud and abuse of official position in connection with two public procurement contracts at Latvian hospitals. The alleged criminal offenses may have caused harm to the financial interests of both the Latvian state and the European Union.

The investigation covers two public procurement contracts worth EUR 491,500 and EUR 165,500, with a total value of EUR 657,000. This criminal proceeding is one of several currently under investigation by KNAB and EPPO related to potential criminal offenses in the area of public procurement at Latvian hospitals, EPPO noted.

Evidence obtained during the pre-trial criminal proceedings indicates that the businessman may have agreed with a member of the hospital’s procurement committee, even before the tender was announced, to influence the procurement procedure in order to ensure that a specific company would win the contract, EPPO stated.

According to evidence gathered during the investigation, the technical specifications and other requirements of the tender were likely tailored to the interests of a specific bidder, thereby giving that bidder an unfair advantage in the procurement procedure and securing the right to supply the goods specified in the project, EPPO stated in its announcement.

There are suspicions that these actions were carried out by abusing official positions and misleading others regarding the objectivity of the procurement procedure, thereby causing harm to the financial interests of the European Union, EPPO noted.

As reported, on May 21, KNAB conducted criminal investigative actions in three criminal cases related to an alleged unlawful agreement between officials of Vidzeme Hospital, the Hospital of Traumatology and Orthopedics (TOS), and Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital (PSKUS) regarding illegal agreements with specific suppliers to ensure these companies’ success in four public procurement tenders.

To ensure these companies’ success, the technical specifications of the procurements were likely tailored to the requirements of specific suppliers of medical goods. The contract value affected by these criminal offenses amounts to at least EUR 3,679,964, funded from the budgets of Latvia and the European Union, according to KNAB.

Searches were conducted at more than 17 locations across Latvia as part of the criminal proceedings, including Vidzeme Hospital, TOS, and PSKUS.

It was announced at the time that four individuals involved in the criminal proceedings, including two government officials and two company representatives, have the right to a defense. None of the individuals involved in the criminal proceedings have had any security measures involving deprivation of liberty imposed on them, KNAB reported.

The criminal proceedings related to procurements organized by Vidzeme Hospital and TOS were initiated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) immediately after KNAB forwarded the materials it had obtained regarding possible irregularities to the prosecutor’s office for evaluation, in accordance with the requirements of European Union legislation. After opening the cases, EPPO referred them to KNAB for investigation.

EPPO opened criminal proceedings involving Vidzeme Hospital on March 30 on suspicion of possible large-scale fraud and document forgery.

Meanwhile, EPPO initiated the criminal proceedings involving TOS on April 8 regarding suspected large-scale fraud and abuse of official position for personal gain.

The third of the criminal cases under investigation relates to an alleged violation of the law by the PSKUS. KNAB initiated this criminal case on April 9 on suspicion of the request for and acceptance of an unlawful benefit, a paid study trip, committed by an employee of the institution who is not a public official.

The Latvian Television reported that the same supplier - Arbor Medical Korporacija - appears in the criminal proceedings involving Vidzeme Hospital and TOS. At the same time, Dace Ratfeldere, the head of Arbor Medical Korporacija, denied that the cases are related to the company.