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In addition, during the criminal intelligence, the STT agents secretly filmed on the street and recorded D. Zagreck’s meetings with the judges. One such meeting took place in Birštonas, where Gintaras Čekanauskas (b.1962), a judge of the Regional Regional Administrative Court, lives. Today, he has already been removed from the post of judge because he has demoted the judge’s name, and prosecutors accuse him of influence peddling – the long-time former Judicial Council member is suspected of having to bribe his colleague from the Regional Court of Kaunas.
This colleague is Rimas Švirinas, a judge who hears criminal cases. Following the judicial corruption scandal, he asked to be released from the Kaunas Regional Court; the judge wanted to return to his native Alytus, where he continues to hear criminal cases.
However, the prosecutors did not bring charges against R. Švirinas regarding possible bribery and charged G. Čekanauskas, who had been wearing the robes of a judge, and even Giedrius Valatkevičius (n. – abroad.
And now G. Valatkevičius is on trial again: the Vilnius Regional Court opened the criminal case against him and former judge G. Čekanauskas on Monday. Judges Gintaras Dzedulionis, Daiva Kazlauskienė and Audrius Cininas explain whether the accusations against the accused of influence peddling are well founded.
In the criminal case, Alexander Kazakov, a prosecutor from the Attorney General’s Office who supports the state indictment, said in court that G. Valatkevičius from Druskininkai was still in 2018. October 17 Arrived at D. Zagreck’s law firm and agreed on his office that he would use his acquaintances to bribe Judge Švirin, who is handling a criminal case against him for trafficking in human beings. G. Valatkevičius promised to give a bribe of 15 thousand euros for this “service”.
According to the prosecutor, G. Valatkevičius, accused of serious crimes, did not want to be sentenced to a real custodial sentence; he realized that he would be found guilty in a criminal case, but wanted the court to postpone the execution of the imprisoned person. sentence that was imposed.
During the investigation, the prosecutors claim that they found that subsequently, in execution of the “order” received, attorney D. Zagreck met with Judge G. Čekanauskas, who knew Judge R. Švirinas personally. During these meetings, it was alleged that a bribe had been awarded to the judge.
The indictment establishes that in 2019. January 10, G. Valatkevičius delivered more than 15 thousand to his lawyer D. Zagreckas. Eur, and January 23. A lawyer at the premises of the Regional Administrative Court in Kaunas met with G. Čekanauskas and agreed on a smaller amount – 10 thousand. Eur – giving a bribe. According to the prosecutor, during this meeting G. Čekanauskas ordered his lawyer D. Zagreckas to keep the money, and also assured that judge R. Švirinas was aware of this illegal agreement.
Brave Zagreck
According to the data of the case, it was also established that in 2019. February 6, G. Valatkevičius had returned to the law firm of D. Zagreckas and had given him another 2,000. EUR.
Although it was agreed to bribe the judge, two weeks later, on February 20. A real scandal broke out in Lithuania: STT agents arrested and imprisoned eight judges and five lawyers. A month after this scandal, Judge Švirinas delivered a verdict: G. Valatkevičius was sentenced to a royal sentence of five and a half years in prison.
And it infuriated him: he shouted in the courtroom that the judge had decided to do it only because he had rescued his fur. “Everyone knows that I am suspected of bribery, I have paper! We are accomplices and you are reading me the sentence!” Said G. Valatkevičius.
Subsequently, the Lithuanian Court of Appeal decided to overturn the verdict handed down by Judge R. Švirinas – that the judge’s acceptance of the sentence may have been motivated by fear of receiving suspicions that he had been bribed. According to the judges of the appeals court, R. Švirinas, when passing judgment, “undoubtedly was aware of the part of the pre-trial investigation related to his possible bribery to obtain a favorable judicial decision in this particular case” on trafficking in persons. .
“This fact allows us to reasonably affirm that Judge R. Švirinas, knowing these circumstances, could no longer remain impartial”, the Lithuanian Court of Appeal returned the case for a new trial, as the right of G. Valatkevičius had been violated to an impartial tribunal. In this case, G. Valatkevičius was convicted of taking several children abroad, where they were forced to commit robberies.
G. Valatkevičius and former judge G. Čekanauskas, who appeared in court on Monday, said they did not admit guilt to the charges against them. They also refused to testify, hoping that the evidence in the criminal case would initially be examined and witnesses questioned. The main witness in this case is a former attorney, D. Zagreck, who agreed to cooperate with law enforcement and was acquitted.
In order to examine the case as soon as possible, the court not only reviewed the secretly recorded videos of the STT agents during the hearing, but also listened to the conversations recorded by them, during which the bribery of a Kaunas judge was discussed. .
The main case of judicial corruption is still being investigated by the STT. It is suspected that bribes ranging from 1 to 100,000 may have been promised and paid for various favorable decisions by judges. EUR. According to the data collected during the pre-trial investigation, the amount of agreed bribes can reach 400,000. EUR.
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