The Landsbergienė-run company received the attention of the ITS: who built the school in Vilnius and how

Lukšinės st. On a 2-acre site at 29, you can find a general education school with children’s and sports games and parking lots.

Three floors and almost 7.7 thousand. Construction of a square meter building was completed in 2019. Students from educational institutions run by A. Landsbergienė soon moved to new facilities.

Had another name

The investment in knowledge studied by the STI previously had a different name and owner. The company, established on January 26, 2016, was originally called Krajama and belonged to the accounting services company Management and Accounting Services.

On July 10, 2017, A. Landsbergienė became the owner of Krajama, according to data from the Registry of Legal Entities.

According to Šarūnas Stepukonis, a partner at BaltCap, which currently runs the company, Delfi said, negotiations over the construction of the school in Kalnėnai started in early 2018.

“We came to us in January with the question of whether we could build and rent,” he said.

The interviewee recalled that the school did not have a complete project at that time.

“It just caught our eye then. We found builders who could. It was such a long 8-month process that we completed the technical project. We had to cut the estimate because we had planned all kinds of luxuries. We completed the technical project in the summer. Then we received a building permit, in September, ”Š. Stepukonis

The BaltCap Infrastructure Fund, which currently manages the Investment in Knowledge (formerly Krajam), is registered in Estonia. According to the Estonian registry, the investment fund is managed by Dagnis Dreimanis, Martinas Kodaras, Peeteris Saksas and Simonas Gustainis.

Š. Stepukonis said that the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, pension funds and life insurance companies have invested in the BaltCap Infrastructure Fund.

In a study carried out in the Seimas, Š. Stepukonis clarified that the pension funds of three Baltic countries have invested in the fund.

“From Estonia, we have the pension funds of LHV Bank, we have Swedbank and we have SB banks. We have SEB and Citadele banks in Latvia. We have SEB and Swedbank in Lithuania, he said.

Bought a plot

Under the Krajam administration of A. Landsbergienė, the company acquired Lukšinės Street. 29 pitch. According to the Real Estate Registry, the transaction was completed on June 28, 2018.

Š. Stepukonis said the parcel was purchased from the Pakrantės būstas company, which is developing the entire territory in Kalnėnai. The shareholder of this company is Tadas Vaičiulis.

The BaltCap partner noted that the preliminary agreement on the acquisition of the plot was signed somewhere earlier. “Since the developer had to bring all kinds of communications, organize the purpose and everything in between, it was just a long acquisition,” he explained.

Suddenly

On Thursday, September 13, 2018, three contracts were signed simultaneously.

The first is between the Krajama company and the Estonian capital company Merko statyba about the Lukšinės str. 29 buildings.

The second is between Krajamas and the company of A. Landsbergienė Kibirkštis on Lukšinės Street. 29 rentals.

The third is between A. Landsbergienė and BaltCap Infrastructure Fund regarding the sale of Krajama shares.

As explained by Š. Stepukonis, all done at the same time to avoid risks.

“A lease without a construction contract would represent a risk; construction contract without rent too; neither do we need actions if we don’t build a school, ”he explained.

On September 20, 2018, a report on the cooperation between BaltCap and A. Landsbergienė appeared in the media.

“This private partnership project is an example of solving the problem of Vilnius’ educational infrastructure. The capital’s master plan foresees 11 new educational institutions, and the municipality has announced plans to build 5 schools. The Fund’s strategy and financial resources allow it to contribute, at least in part, to the development of the necessary infrastructure. Furthermore, we hope that this is just the first of many Lithuanian school renovation and construction projects, as municipalities in the larger country are increasingly seeking to develop such projects, in which private capital can be attracted ”, Š. Stepukonis

On September 25, 2018, a temporary committee of inquiry, headed by Agnė Širinskienė, a member of Parliament, began its activities in the Seimas, and in one of the sessions on these agreements, Š. Stepukonis

On October 16, 2018, Krajama’s name was changed to Investing in Knowledge.

Sold for 1 euro

On February 13, 2019, Š. Stepukonis said that the BaltCap Infrastructure Fund had invested 2.5 million in a school in Kalnėnai. 5.5 million euros from the Fund. borrowed from the bank. It has been announced that the value of the contract between the Merko and Krajama estates is over 7.4 million. EUR (not including value added tax).

“The bank loan agreement between Knowledge Investment and the bank was concluded on December 20, 2018,” Delfi explained.

Š. Stepukonis also told Seimas members that A. Landsbergienė’s “Kibirkštis” pays around 920,000. euros

“Since 2005, we have indexed this tax, of which 920 we are paying VAT to the state again, we have around 766 thousand, from which we deduct the loan and interest repayment to the bank and return the rest to the funds.” Over the entire 20-year period, we have those 2.5 million. We will receive a 4.6 times return of € 10 million, which will return approximately € 10 million to the funds. euros, ”he said.

Kibirkštis agrees to rent the building by November 29, 2039.

Š. Stepukonis also said that if the A. Landsbergien escuela school filed for bankruptcy, BaltCap would receive 1.3 million. a parcel of land worth a billion euros, a new school and all advances paid.

The BaltCap partner also stated at the committee meeting that the value of the Krajama stock transaction between A. Landsbergienė and BaltCap was 1 euro.

“That agreement has been declared, the value of the agreement is 1 euro, because we take the land as an advance if we do not rent it so that we can cover the risk,” he said.

Š. Stepukonis Delfi explained that when BaltCap bought Krajamama, it had a couple of thousand euros of negative capital.

“The acquisition of the land was financed by loans, so the ratio of the company’s assets to its liabilities was the same.

In order to protect against termination of the lease, we have established provisions in the lease that upon termination of the lease, an annual fee will apply and all losses incurred will be additionally offset.

Since we are likely to terminate the lease even when the tenant is insolvent and has limited opportunities to recoup potential losses, the loan for the purchase of the land is and will be considered as collateral until the end of the lease, ”he said.

Declaration error

It should be noted that Gabrielius Landsbergis, the spouse of A. Landsbergienė, the elder of the Christian Democratic faction of the Lithuanian-National Union, last updated his statement of private interests on September 16, 2019.

At that time, A. Landsbergienė was no longer a shareholder in Krajama. However, the document states that Mr. Landsberg’s spouse still owns the shares. The statement also does not contain data on the other transactions mentioned.

Vytautė Šmaižytė, the head of conservative communication, gave the following explanation: “As you will correctly note, A. Landsbergienė, the wife of G. Landsbergis, no longer owns the shares of the mentioned company. For maximum transparency, the company continued to be mentioned in Mr. Landsberg’s statement. We agree that this information may be considered redundant, so it cannot be ruled out that this entry is not necessarily maintained when the statement is revised. “

A. Landsbergienė is the owner of Kibirkšties, owner of the Kindergarten company, which manages 11 kindergartens, and Queen Martha’s School, which manages two schools.

A. Landsbergienė has declared to the Main Commission of Official Ethics the transaction of August 20, 2019, whereby the authorized capital of Kibirkšties was increased by 12,633,000 euros by the value of the subscribed shares.

The latest declaration of the assets of A. Landsbergienė affirms that it owns shares for 12,855,319 euros. T. and. 222,319 euros more than what was declared to the COEC.

When asked what determines this difference, Rita Meilūnaitė, communication director for Kibirkšties, said that, as required by law, a person must declare all available values ​​in the annual asset declaration.

“It follows that dr. Austėja Landsbergienė’s asset statement indicates the amount of all available securities, including Kibirkšt shares,” he said.

According to STI data, A. Landsbergienė had land in Lithuania for € 2,159 in 2019, other registrable items, artwork and jewelry for € 2,896.

In 2019, the amount of cash available at A. Landsbergienė lending and non-lending institutions decreased. In 2018, the amount amounted to 448,402 euros, and in 2019: 111,314 euros, that is, and. 337 088 EUR less.

In 2019, A. Landsbergienė no longer had the amount of funds borrowed and outstanding declared in 2018 for 51,323 euros.

In total, in 2019, A. Landsbergienė had assets of almost 13 million. euros

ITS Research

Lukšinės st. The act of acceptance-transfer of building 29 was concluded on November 29, 2019. Then the 20-year lease term began. The opening of the school was announced in January 2020.

At that time, on May 14, 2020, the Seimas approved the conclusions of the investigation carried out by A. Širinskienė. They instruct the ITS “to carry out a tax investigation and assess whether the determination of the price of 1 euro for the acquisition of land with” Krajama “was not chosen to avoid paying taxes to the state.”

As announced by 15min.lt, the ITS initially refused to carry out such an investigation, but then changed its mind.

“STI has launched a tax investigation into Knowldege’s investment. The tax investigation into Knowldege is being carried out for the first time,” STI spokeswoman Rūta Asadauskaitė said on July 22.

It should be noted that on June 12 the Constitutional Court declared that A. Širinskienė’s commission of inquiry was formed in violation of the Constitution and its conclusions are illegal.

Š. Stepukonis “Delfi” said the ITS investigation is the mildest form of “inspection”.

“It just came to our attention then. Verification when any misconduct is suspected. There may be some sanctions, measures, but not investigation. It is a form of document viewing, where it is really clear what you are doing … Gather all the documents you want. We said there would be no additional consultations and that we would complete the procedure sooner, “he said.

Mutual benefit

Š. Stepukonis also explained that the commercial relationship between A. Landsbergienė and Baltcap is beneficial to both parties.

“We invest money to generate returns. These are rentals that will pay that investment in 20 years. The school benefits because they used to rent (like all private) unsuitable office space for the school, “he said.

Š. Stepukonis taught that Queen Martha School now also has a sports field, all hygiene standards are observed, the building has an A + energy efficiency class.

“Since you used to go to school there, it is not normal or hot, you sweat. Now it works in a normal microclimate, “said the BaltCap partner.

According to him, the school in Kalnėnai is now an example.

“People come from all over Lithuania, look at what a modern school should look like. In terms of design: solutions for the classroom, where you can fit a small class, use a wall, create a larger classroom. Now those schools should born, “Š said. Stepukonis