According to the news website, law enforcement targeted Latvian company Conti Chemicals and Poland’s Tasta Armatura.
It is suspected that the companies might have been part of an organised fraud scheme in which Russian-made gas pipeline parts were supplied with forged certificates of European companies.
In February, Lithuanian natural gas transmission system operator Amber Grid applied to the bank for a guarantee from the GIPL pipeline contractor. Amber Grid required the contractor to rectify identified deficiencies in the certification of some components. Failure to do so will result in the defects being rectified by replacing the parts and using the bank guarantee funds.
It is suspected that fittings manufactured by Russian company ChelPipe Group were installed when constructing the GIPL gas pipeline of strategic importance and that these parts were supplied under forged certificates of Polish, Romanian and Latvian companies.