Skele lets the sunshine in

RIGA(BNS) - Latvian Prime Minister Andris Skele has agreed to make public the agreement between his consulting company Uznemumu Vadiba un Konsultacijas and Pricewaterhouse Coopers auditing company about selection of a trustee for Ave Lat Grupa, a food processing cluster owned by Skele.

"If PWC thinks this agreement can be made public, no problem," Skele said at a news conference Nov. 27.

Under Skele's authorization in August, PWC selected an international trust company, Abacus Limited, to manage ALG.

UVK representatives said that Abacus Limited was a part of Abacus Financial Services Group providing international financial services.

The appointment of a trust company to manage ALG effectively precludes Skele from having any say in the management of ALG and distribution of its profits.

Under international practices, such a trustee appoints a specific executive for management of the company, and the initial owner has no influence over this decision.

Skele told reporters that in this case the trust was like "a black box."

When you put in your shares, you never know what you will take out of the box later, the prime minister said.