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“To date, interviews with more than 10 people have revealed no evidence that the government, the Ministry of Health, or representatives of the National Public Health Laboratory who participated in the acquisition of high-value coronavirus reagents and who participated in acquiring them, they were aware that Šarūnas Narbutas, who participated in the negotiations and coordination of the agreements, acts as a person with a financial interest to conclude these agreements, ”said Elena Martinonienė, representative of the Office of the Attorney General , to BNS.
According to him, “the circumstances in which that person entered into a contract with a company established in Spain and the legality of the mediation activity carried out by the suspect” are questioned.
The former witness was previously confirmed by the Government Chancellor, Algirdas Stončaitis, the Vice Chancellor Lukas Savickas, as well as the Vice Minister of Health, Kristina Garuolien head, and the acting head of the National Laboratory of Public Health Henrikas Ulevičius.
Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga was also questioned as a witness in a study by the Special Investigation Service (STT) on Thursday.
Julius Kalinskas photo / 15min / Aurelijus Veryga
He said that Narbutas, the former president of the Association of Oncology Patients (POLA), had not informed either him or his team that he would be rewarded for mediating the purchases.
“But what I find really strange and unfair is that no one has been told about it. Neither I nor my team knew that the person in question received a profit for it. I don’t think it is illegal, but we have to say things like that” said the Minister of Health.
Narbutas himself said last week that representatives of the Ministry of Health and witnesses interviewed in the investigation “understood” that he was representing a Spanish company.
“The ministry and all the individuals, as well as the witnesses mentioned in these documents, made it clear that they understood that I was a mediator. In fact, no one asked me if you did it for a fee, and apparently this is an episode, ”he said.
In STT’s investigation into reagent purchases, it is suspected that the former Š.Narbutas exchanged effects.
Š.Narbutas is suspected of more than 5 million. acted as an informal intermediary between the Lithuanian authorities and the Spanish company in the acquisition of euro-denominated reagents.
“According to the investigation, the suspect began acting as an informal intermediary between the Lithuanian authorities and the company in March, to obtain large quantities of coronavirus test reagents (COVID-19) from state institutions in March and after beginning the negotiations with an authorized representative of a foreign company, “police said.
It is also suspected that you may have indicated a certain amount to the company representative for mediation in this purchase.
According to data from the pre-trial investigation, after the purchases had already taken place, more than LTL 300,000 was transferred to Š.Narbutas’ personal bank account multiple times. euros
Š.Narbutas denies the allegations and says that the amount was remuneration for the activities carried out on the basis of an individual certificate, which has all the necessary documents.
According to BNS, the researchers explain the two contracts signed by the National Laboratory of Public Health on March 21 and 23 of this year with the Spanish company PMS International.
The central procurement portal indicates that the laboratory has concluded two COVID-19 research measurement contracts: one of them is 3.5 million. 1.8 million euros. euros
The two contracts for the supply of reagents from China were signed by the then head of the laboratory, Vytautas Zimnickas, who died a week ago. The agreements have been signed with a representative of PMS International, whose name is not indicated in the agreement.
Under the agreements, part of the funds had to be transferred to the Chinese reagent manufacturer Sansure Biotech.
Š.Narbutas denies the allegations and says that the amount was remuneration for the activities carried out on the basis of an individual certificate, which has all the necessary documents.
The former president of POLA Š.Narbutas is a member of the councils and boards of various working groups and organizations.
He is a member of the National Health Council and also works for Invest in Lithuania and eHealth Boards.
He is also a member and former president of the council of the State Fund for Strengthening Public Health of the Ministry of Health and a member of the monitoring council for the implementation of the National Program for Cancer Prevention and Control and the Oncological Assistance Organization.
In his statement of interests, Š.Narbutas also states that he is a member of the Vilna City Municipality Community Health Council and President of the Kaunas Hospital Patient Council.
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