First verdict in Valka EU funds fraud case: cider maker owner admits aiding fraud
A first conviction has entered into force in the case of EU funds defrauded in Valka municipality, Latvia. The owner of the company Mūrbūdu sidra darītava, Krišjānis Zintis Putniņš, admitted to aiding fraud under a plea agreement approved by the court.
The first conviction has come into force in a case concerning the fraudulent obtaining of European Union (EU) funds in Valka municipality, northern Latvia. Krišjānis Zintis Putniņš, owner of the company Mūrbūdu sidra darītava (a cider producer), admitted guilt in aiding fraud. He reached a plea agreement, which the court approved, Latvian Television's programme "De facto" reported last Sunday.
For aiding large-scale fraud, Putniņš received three years of probation supervision. His company must pay 31,200 euros, equal to 40 minimum monthly wages, and is barred from applying for EU funding for two years.
The businessman's response
On Monday Putniņš declined to comment on the verdict. He said the company has not stopped operating, nothing has changed, and cider sales have not fallen. He has decided to avoid such municipal projects in future. He had not watched the video of an interview with the head of Valka municipality.
Vents Armands Krauklis, chair of Valka municipality (Vidzeme Party), told "De facto" that Putniņš had said he accepted the deal because fighting the case in court for years would cost more. Krauklis believes the businessman was not at fault and said he himself had not read the verdict. He also claimed he has no special contacts at the Central Finance and Contracting Agency (CFLA), but confirmed he sought advice from Mārtiņs Brencis, then the agency's deputy head and now a member of parliament for the United List. The verdict, however, says Krauklis undertook to resolve project problems using contacts at the agency.
Background of the case
Putniņš's case was separated from the original one, in which charges were brought against Krauklis, former Ērģeme and Kārķi parish administration head Pēteris Pētersons, and Gunta Smane, deputy head of the municipality's Development and Projects Department. That case is being prepared for trial. Krauklis denies the charges.
The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB), working with the European Public Prosecutor's Office, believes 693,520 euros were obtained by deceit from the European Regional Development Fund and the state budget between July 2020 and October 2023. Investigators say a specific company was secretly favoured in the project, with a production building erected on a plot that did not qualify as a degraded territory.
