Witnesses explain disputed tender and flight ticket

On Wednesday morning, the series of witnesses began to appear in Sermersooq District Court, several of them via video from Denmark. They will inform the court about the case, in which a former municipal manager is accused of fraud and abuse of authority.

Among other things, the man is accused of abusing his managerial position to favor a certain company that bid for cleaning tasks in the municipality during a period from 2020 to 2021. The company was owned by his sister and brother-in-law.

The former employee of the company says that he had written “virtually everything” in the tender documents in the case. He spoke about the defendant’s role in this regard:

– I couldn’t send out any material without his approval. The entire tender has been turned over to him.

However, the witness in question had resigned from his position before the entire process was completed.

Cleaning manager on the witness stand

We hear from a director of the cleaning company who, according to the indictment, was cheated out of municipal contracts. His company had submitted the best offer, measured by price.

He says as a witness that the municipality first put the contract out to tender, but then changed its mind about whether the price should include or exclude equipment and cleaning supplies.

– I was unhappy about that. I haven’t experienced anything like that before. Our price will of course change if we also have to provide equipment, says the witness.

The cleaning director said that his company then submitted a new bid and won a partial contract. The rest of the bid went to the company owned by the defendant's sister and brother-in-law.

The witness said that he was aware of the relationship between the head of the municipality and the owners of the company in question. Therefore, he had not expected to win.

“We were happy with what we had received. As far as I could see, the bidding had been carried out correctly,” he said.

The prosecutor asks whether the witness knew anything about the fact that financial considerations were disregarded in the assessment of who should get the tasks. The answer was no.

Witness doubts payment

Another sister of the defendant also testified in court. She confirmed that in 2021 she received a plane ticket from Denmark to Greenland in connection with their mother's death and funeral.

– My brother got me a ticket to Nuuk, and I bought the ticket home myself the following week. I ask him later how I am going to pay. He says he will figure it out.

The prosecutor claims that the defendant has illegally paid the municipality for the bill. The defendant denies this and all other allegations in the indictment.

The sister says she does not know who ended up paying the bill. The defendant wrote in an email to a colleague in the municipality that she would have to pay for her own travel.

On Wednesday afternoon, another former employee testifies about several of the circumstances of the case, and we see additional documentation to shed light on the circumstances.

On Thursday, we expect to hear the last witnesses. Presumably, a verdict will also be reached in the case.