PM Kulbergs: Companies under EPPO Investigation Involved in Latvian ICT Procurement

Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs (AS) disclosed in an interview with Latvian Television’s “One on One” that several companies involved in the large, high-value state information and communication technology (ICT) procurements—frozen by his 30-day moratorium—are also mentioned in a criminal investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) into suspected fraud. Kulbergs noted that the coming weeks will involve extensive and complex work to assess how to proceed with procurements where bids come from suspect companies.

Kulbergs said that Latvia has “missed the mark” by placing the State Digital Development Agency under the oversight of a single ministry. He proposed restructuring it as a centralized backbone to ensure uniform systems and processes across all ministries. He also highlighted the problem that the state does not use open source code in its systems, making interoperability difficult and forcing the creation of individual platforms.

Regarding competition, Kulbergs acknowledged that a large share of ICT procurement is concentrated among a few firms—38% of projects were handled by just three companies. He said this would be acceptable if these companies also served private clients, but that is not the case. The Prime Minister revealed that 452 million euros were spent on ICT projects in 2024 and 2025, and 30 million euros on hourly procurement in the first six months of this year. He criticized the practice of buying work hours instead of final solutions, citing risks to transparency and efficiency.

As reported, Kulbergs imposed a 30-day moratorium on large ICT procurements (over 142,000 euros) and EU-funded projects to review their usefulness. Procurements under 142,000 euros are exempt. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Smart Administration have been tasked with drafting proposals to improve the Electronic Procurement System and ICT project management. Industry associations have been invited to submit their recommendations.

Kulbergs expressed hope that within his four months in office, foundations for long-term solutions can be laid. He also noted that the state administration employs 1,664 IT specialists but also uses external services.