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Officially, V. Jokimas does not lend with interest: his contracts with debtors provide for this condition.
“I wanted to help my loved ones, relatives or acquaintances. They asked me that it was too expensive for them to borrow from the banks. ” V. Jokimas repeated several times when asked why he was involved in illegal lending activities.
According to him, the case brought against him for illegal activities of economic activity is only the opinion of the prosecution.
“It is very simple, I have made interest-free loans and the prosecution believes the loans are repayable.” I was convicted in district court of confiscation of property and a fine. Now the case is in the Kaunas Regional Court, “said V. Jokimas.
But as it reveals 15 minutes interlocutors and available documents, such explanations from V. Jokimas are just fairy tales, and the relatives and friends mentioned by him really got to know the man after finding ads.
Stay cheated
Entrepreneur Alvydas Samaitis became one of V. Jokimo’s debtors and related how he was deceived.
When asked if he was a friend of V. Jokimo, a relative or perhaps an acquaintance, he replied: “Don’t joke, once I reviewed the ads, we found out that he lent money. We got there, Jokim came, he gave us the money and we split up. ”
At first, everything went perfectly. It was so simple that, in the criminal case, the businessman, at the request of V. Jokimas, presented favorable evidence to the accused: that the loans were really interest-free.
“At that time I did not know his entire situation, I was interviewed by the Financial Crime Investigation Service, perhaps in 2016. And the case came to court only in 2018. At that time, everything was fine, everything was given away, no I turned my head, “said A. Samaitis.
However, after questioning, the businessman received an unexpected flash: V. Jokimas filed an application with the court demanding payment of the debt. And legally, V. Jokimo’s claim is quite justified, because officially the payment of the loan is not documented in any way.
123rf.com/ Associative Illustration / Loan
“It just came to our attention then. After that, he says, I didn’t sign, I forgot, and then I sued. In fact, the courts order everything. Too much nesicackin with such things, “said the businessman.
When asked again if the loans were really interest free, A. Samaitis laughed: “It is clear that I paid interest. At one point a person borrows 100-200 thousand. euros In good faith? “
The man said that although the interest-free loan provided in the agreement, part of the money loaned must be returned to V. Jokimas immediately, but these amounts are not registered anywhere.
Hundreds of thousands loaned for free?
This narrative is confirmed by the lawsuit of another businessman, who is currently pending in court, with which 15 minutes i had a chance to know. With this lawsuit, V. Jokimo’s debtor is trying to challenge the loan agreement.
Although the loan agreements specify almost 380 thousand. The claim alleges that only about 310 thousand euros were received.
70 thousand The joke was a fee for concluding a loan, which V. Jokimas supposedly deducted immediately from the money transferred.
But the payments are not documented in any way and proving that this was the case is quite difficult since most of the financial transactions were made in cash.
“The defendant has no interest in running a high risk of default on the debt and lending large sums of money to the parties without any return. Obviously, such free loan relationships are only possible between very close people. There is no doubt that the parties and the accused are not like that, ”says the request.
Loans are prohibited
“On July 9, 2019, the Bank of Lithuania (LB) advised you that, as a natural person, you do not have the right to participate in the provision of consumer credit or credit-related activities related to the real estate guarantee, except in certain incidental cases. ” the letter you received 15 minutesLB addressed V. Jokimas last year.
At the same time, you are required to stop illegal lending activities. However, V. Jokimas continues to stick to his own: he does not engage in any illegal activity.
Speaking to 15 minutes he has repeatedly argued that he lends without interest, does not get any benefit from it and can prove it. After LB’s call to end its activities, the bankers received a reprimand from V. Jokimas: He filed a complaint that LB violates his rights with said insurance and therefore not only has to withdraw, but also compensate for the damages. to the property and not property that they caused.
Julius Kalinskas / 15min photo / Building of the Bank of Lithuania in Vilnius
“There is no legal basis for preparing a new document and denying the prior information specified in the letters from the LAC Oversight Service,” said Vitas Vasiliauskas, President of the Litas Board.
In the letter, LB states that they have reasonable suspicions that V. Jokimas is illegally engaged in providing large-scale loans.
By the way, 15 minutes As far as we know, FNTT launched an investigation into V. Jokimo’s illegal activities last year. He does not deny this himself, but sees the situation as further evidence that the police are unjustifiably pursuing him.
This information was also confirmed by the FNTT spokesperson: the investigation is carried out in accordance with article 202 of the CC. (“Illegal search for economic, commercial, financial or professional activities”) and in accordance with article 223 of the Code of Procedure. (“Negligent accounting”).
Interest can also be reduced.
Courts generally grant both interest and huge interest to Jokimo’s debtors who did not return the money on time. Loan agreements stipulate that the interest for one day is 0.5 percent. With such interest, past due loans can double in approximately half a year.
However, not everyone agrees with that, like V. Jokimas himself, he goes to court and tries to defend his rights. And some manage to demonstrate that the forces of the counterparts in the contract were not equal.
An old man went to court when he agreed to sign the contract loan and the money was necessary for his son’s business.
The business failed, the family was plagued with illness and personal problems, so the money could not be returned on time. It is true that V. Jokimas allowed the contract term to be extended by almost 5 years for a fee.
According to the witness, the extension fee paid was almost the same as the loan itself: almost 17 thousand. euros
However, the interest expired after the deadline. Half a year later, V. Jokimas submitted an application to the bailiffs, demanding to recover the debt of Eur 17377 and interest on Eur 15813.
Photo from 123rf.com/ Associative Illustration
For the court, the superior tried to prove that such amount of penalties, almost equal to the debt itself, was not reasonable. And it was successful: in the Kaunas District Court, in March 2019, a final and final appeal was issued, whereby the default interest was reduced from 0.5 to 0.05 percent.
The court took into account that the loan was taken to help the son and was not paid due to the grandson’s serious illness, the old man has health problems and his only asset is the family home, which he would probably lose because he was mortgaged with Jokimas.
“It is likely that the defendant received high interests,” the court also noted. – The defendant is in the loan business. He makes loans by announcing it in the press, he has several debtors and this is confirmed by the material of the criminal case and the evidence provided by the accused himself. “
After this judicial decision, the amount of the sanctions decreased to 1.5 thousand. euros
In another case, V. Jokimas recovered more than 60,000 debtors through bailiffs. although his loan was twice as small.
People who entered the legal fight were able to show that 0.5 percent. interest is unreasonable and has been reduced to 0.02%. This allowed the family to recover 28,990 euros from Jokimo.
“0.5 percent interest for a day in half a year is 91 percent. Therefore, the amount of the penalty cannot be considered to comply with the principles of justice, reasonableness and impartiality and must be recognized as clearly excessive, what allowing defendant V.Jokimas to abuse the law, especially since defendant V.Jokimas himself did not deny that such sanctions are very serious. “Large, the court ruled.
With 15 minutes The communicating debtors said they did not rule out the possibility and asked officials with a request to V. Jokimas to start a fraud lawsuit.
Bank of Lithuania: powerless?
When asked by LB about similar situations, his representative, Inga Pache, reported that, in theory, LB could impose fines on lenders if they engage in illegal activities.
“However, there are often cases when the available evidence is insufficient or non-existent; then the Bank of Lithuania sends the collected information and suspicions to the police authorities, who have more rights and powers to do so.
Only the law enforcement authorities can prosecute a person administratively or criminally, the Bank of Lithuania cooperates closely with them, “replied the LB.
It is also noted that LAC does not regulate loans to other residents, even if the amounts are hundreds of thousands of euros.
“State regulation is necessary when the counterpart forces are unequal (a legal entity, such as a bank with full capacity and a resident). Of course, no one will prohibit lending John, for example Peter, but lending a resident to another resident is already subject to the general rules of civil law outlined in the Civil Code.
In this case, it is necessary to take at least basic precautions, to clarify all the terms of the contract, and if you decide to borrow, to properly process the loan and its repayment. Furthermore, natural persons do not have the right to grant consumer loans to other natural persons for commercial purposes, “reports LB.
Read about V.Jokimo’s wars with institutions in the third part of the 15-minute study.
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