A few days before Rastorgujev’s success at the world championship, the Latvian Biathlon Federation (LBF) appealed to the public with a request to donate 60,000 euros for the participation of Latvian athletes in the two final World Cup stages of the season in North America. Participation in these competitions is said to be very important in order to improve the chances of the national team participating in the 2026 Olympic Games in greater numbers.
Welcoming the world vice-champion Andrej Rastorgujev at the airport “Riga” +69 See more
And even though our athletes have had one of the best seasons, the federation has faced financial difficulties, because, as LBF president Kaspars Sakniņš explained to “Latvijas Avīze”, the minimum budget needed for the season is 800 thousand euros. The federation can receive around 400,000 from the International Biathlon Union, the support of the Latvian Olympic team for athletes is around 100,000 euros, and the support granted by the Ministry of Education and Science to the federation is 26 thousand.
Where to get the missing amount? Of course, you need to look for sponsors. Several years ago, the then president of the federation, Baiba Broka, also did this, but now she has to appear before the court. It is about the events when Broka worked at the University of Latvia as the deputy rector in legal matters. At that time, LU announced a procurement for the construction of the Scripture House, and it was in this connection that in the summer of 2019 KNAB arrested Broka on suspicion of bribery. Guntis Rāvis, the former owner of Skonto būves, and Ivars Millers, the former member of the company’s board, are also accused in the case, who allegedly gave a bribe to Broka so that she would defend the company’s interests in LU procurement.
Former politician Baiba Broka was the president of the Latvian Biathlon Federation for several years, but now she is a member of its board. (Photo: Eddy Palen/LETA)
It is significant that the possible bribe – 20,000 euros – had to be presented as a donation to the Latvian Biathlon Federation. Baiba Broka called these accusations unfounded, saying that she, as the head of the Latvian Biathlon Federation, simply appealed to all possible businessmen to support the athletes. “I have not received any compensation for my work duties, I performed public service,” said Broka, emphasizing that she has documented that she has not spent a single cent of the money donated to biathlon for personal needs.
The case in which Baiba Broka is accused of bribery was sent to the court three years ago, but the court could not consider it for two years because Broka was out of Latvia on the set dates of the hearings – she now lives in the United Arab Emirates. A court session was held only last spring, to which Broka finally came, but the Riga City Court plans to continue hearing the case on April 9.
2024-03-09 04:08:00
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