State inspectors have found millions of euros missing from the National Opera and Ballet Theatre budget. Photo by Jaime Silva.

VILNIUS — Lithuania’s Minister of Culture Remigijus Vilkaitis has ordered the National Audit Office to compile evidence to incriminate the management of the National Opera and Ballet Theatre because of alleged graft.

He has asked for them to prepare evidence and punish those involved in suspected violations in public procurement procedures that run into the millions.

State Inspector Giedre Švediene said the theater’s management had failed to ensure that the state budget funds are used in an efficient and transparent manner.

The violations in public procurement procedures were found after the inspectorate scrutinized the opera house’s accounts. Various errors and irregularities were found, particularly concerning the reconstruction of the theater room.

The incriminating materials have been transferred to the general prosecutor’s office, which has started an investigation. Public procurement procedure abuse is a common form of corruption where inflated contract prices are approved for particular companies favored by the management.

In the reconstruction of the theater, more than 13 million litai (€3.77 million) is already understood to have been paid when it should not have been. Moreover, work that should have been done using the funds, was not completed, meaning that more time and money will be needed to complete work.

The theater is half-reconstructed, the Baltic News Service reported, but already millions of litai from the reserve fund for the project is already gone. In several instances, the auditors could not tell if work had been completed because of the inadequacies of the account books.

For example, 1.8 million litai (€520,000) had been paid out for additional services, but what these services were was not specified.

Several employees were receiving salaries as large as 140,000 litai (€40,000) though it is clearly forbidden by law to do so.

Rent for the coffee shop premises in the opera house was also prescribed at a minimum of 10,000 litai (€2,800) per month. The shop was found to be rented for just 1,000 litai per month (€290), leaving a dearth of income for the institution.

Various other illegal activities were also uncovered such as the purchase of an Audi A6. The investigation continues.

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