Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas has signed an order dismissing Edvinas Vasilis-Vasiliauskas as chairman of the Insurance Supervisory Commis-sion after a task force concluded that the commission chairman breached the insurance law and failed to take adequate measures in light of the imminent bankruptcy of IngoBaltic.
Vasilis-Vasiliauskas has been accused of failing to notify the government and the public about developments in the insurance sector. In his defense, the former commission chairman stated that all actions were taken with respect to Ingo Baltic and announced in a timely manner in the state's official paper and on the commission's Web site.
Meanwhile, the Vilnius Regional Court has rejected an individual complaint by an Ingo Baltic creditor, thereby allowing the bankruptcy process to continue.
Tadas Kelpsas, a legal representative of plaintiff Autover Lietuva, said, "We will decide on lodging an appeal following the examination of that decision and information available in the bankruptcy proceedings. In any case, the position of all creditors has improved considerably as they have won equal rights to take part in the proceedings."
This decision by the court can be appealed again in seven days, he added.
The size of Lietuva's claim against INGO Baltic amounts to several thousands of litas.
The Law on Bankruptcy stipulates that the bankruptcy proceedings may be launched as soon as the liabilities a company defaults on exceed 50 percent of the total value of assets entered onto the company's balance sheet, the Baltic News Service reported.
Ingosstrakh, a Russian insurance company, owns 55.6 percent in Ingo Baltic, while Baltijos Garantas, a Lithuanian insurer, holds the remaining shares.
Ingo Baltic posted losses of 4.6 million litas (1.4 million euros) in 2004, compared with net profits of 215,000 litas in 2003.