International scam in the Lithuanian gas pipeline: law enforcement conducted searches in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland | Business

On Tuesday, law enforcement raided Lithuanian, Latvian and Polish companies, which have been mentioned several times 15 minutes in the investigations into fraudulently installed Russian parts in the main GIPL gas pipeline.

“In response to your request, we inform you that during the pre-trial investigation on suspected fraud and forgery of documents on March 26 In Lithuania, Poland and Latvia, the premises of natural and legal persons were searched in order to collect data relevant to the investigation.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing, procedural steps necessary to establish the objective truth are being carried out,” FNTT wrote on Thursday. 15 minutes in the given answer.

The pre-trial investigation into possible fraud and forgery during the construction of the GIPL gas pipeline is conducted by the officers of the Financial Crimes Investigation Service, the investigation is led by the prosecutor of the Vilnius District Prosecutor’s Office.

No one has been charged in this investigation.

“At the moment, in order not to harm the ongoing pre-trial investigation, more detailed information is not being made public,” FNTT’s answers state.

15 minutes The investigation department wrote that since the middle of last year, the state companies “Amber Grid” and “EPSO-G” know for sure that the main Lithuanian-Polish GIPL gas pipeline contains fraudulently installed fittings of the company “ETERNO” of the Russian “ChelPipe” concern. After sanding off the paint, they discovered this factory’s marks on some parts as recently as last May.

According to the documents, the Polish factory “Tasta Armatura” and the Romanian company “Sara SRL” were indicated as manufacturers of fittings. Some of these parts were supplied by the Latvian company Conti Chemicals. However, both the examination of the documents and the physical inspection of the details on the surface revealed inconsistencies with the requirements of the contract, the technical project, and the standards.

About obvious discrepancies in the certificates of fittings 15 minutes Researches wrote back in June of last year. The LRT Investigations Department was the first to report on the possible frauds of “Alvora” during the construction of the GIPL gas pipeline.

Alvora, the main pipeline construction contractor, and Amber Grid, the state-owned company that manages the pipeline, have long denied allegations of fraud. Although it was informed about it even earlier than the law enforcement.

Amber Grid filed a legal claim against Alvora for gross violations only in mid-January of this year. That is, eight months after the pressure to undertake a more serious investigation, “ETERNO” signs were discovered at the Jauniūnai station. Amber Grid’s parent company EPSO-G, as well as the Ministry of Energy, have been well aware of them for a long time.

ETERNO belongs to the ChelPipe group of the Russian concern. The manager of this concern close to the Kremlin, the Russian oligarch Dmitry Pumpiansky, was added to the list of sanctioned persons after the start of the Russian military invasion in Ukraine. US sanctions have recently been applied to the owner of ChelPipe, the largest Russian steel pipe manufacturer TMK, founded by this oligarch.

In support of Russia’s military infrastructure, ChelPipe was also one of the main suppliers in the construction of the Kremlin’s energy age project, the Nord Stream2 gas pipeline, which was interrupted by the war in Ukraine

The money has already left the company’s accounts

About the fact that suspicions raised two years ago regarding fittings of Russian origin in the main gas pipeline are confirmed 15 minutes Researches wrote at the end of February: “Scandalous suspicions are confirmed: dark Russian shadows in the Lithuanian project of the century”.

This week, the banks from the former joint venture contractors of GIPL – “Alvora” and “Šiaulių dujotiekios stabybos” – have already transferred to the account of the state company “Amber Grid” the guarantee funds – 5.8 million. euros.

The major part of these obligations is 4.6 million. euros was paid to the main contractor “Alvora”. It is also included in the list of untrusted suppliers. This limits the company’s opportunities to participate in public procurement in the coming years.

1.2 million EUR transferred from the account of “Šiaulių gas pipeline construction”. Although it was this former partner of “Alvora” who informed state companies and law enforcement about the frauds in the construction of the GIPL gas pipeline.

157 fittings – large diameter tees, elbows, transitions, blinds – will be replaced in the section of the GIPL gas pipeline in Lithuania with the contractor’s guarantee funds.

“Amber Grid” announced a few weeks ago that it is already preparing a plan for replacing parts and preparing for an international public procurement. During it, a new contractor will be selected to perform replacement work on specific parts.

Alvora still maintains that it installed parts of European manufacturers in the gas pipeline and that it had no commercial relations with Russian manufacturers.

However 15 minutes Martin Venglar, the owner of the Czech company “Petrometal” who was interviewed, testified to the contrary. The Czech businessman told reporters that the name of his company appeared in the documents of GIPL parts – flanges – only because it was requested by another Czech-based company controlled by Russian oligarchs MSA, which belongs to the Russian company ETERNO.