According to the explanatory note to the proposed amendments, the government cannot authorize the State Audit Office to carry out an audit at a public establishment, the legal status of the foundation, as this would run counter to the constitutional distribution of powers. If the amendments are approved, an audit would be performed by independent auditors.
Another proposed amendment suggests that interest for money held in banks could be spent on target projects and administrative costs. Under the current regulation, the interest has to go back to the state budget.
The proposed changes should be discussed by the Cabinet on Wednesday.
Pursuant to the Law on Good Will Compensation for the Real Estate of Jewish Religious Communities adopted by Lithuania's parliament in 2011, 128 million litas (EUR 36.5m) will have to be transferred to the fund within a decade.
Last year, the government appointed a foundation for handling the money and transferred initial 3 million litas to its account. The money should be paid out to Jewish survivors of the Holocaust and Soviet terror. The application deadline for compensations is mid-2013, with the money to be paid out in the second half of this year.
