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Darius Stankevičius, the prosecutor for the attorney general’s office who is leading the investigation, has not been released for some time.
V. Sutkus, brought before the court, did not respond to journalists’ questions about the charges against him. Before leaving the officers’ car, he put a mask on his face and an officer accompanied him to court.
Under the new order, V. Sutkus was not handcuffed, but when he was brought to court, he crossed his arms and covered himself with a jacket.
The president of the Lithuanian Business Confederation was brought before the court by police officers, where the prosecutors’ request would be examined by a pre-trial investigative judge.
V. Sutkus was arrested Tuesday in a large-scale bribery, bribery, influence trade, property waste and forgery documents on Tuesday. Mantas Zalatorius, president of the Lithuanian Bank Association, who was arrested along with him, has already been released. In the near future, the detention door should be opened for 4 more business representatives.
The Special Investigation Service and the Office of the Prosecutor General reported that around 70 searches and seizures were carried out on Tuesday in various parts of Lithuania at the suspect’s homes, workplaces and other places.
Officials suspect that the President of the Lithuanian Business Confederation, V. Sutkus, while serving in the Confederation and representing the interests of its members and other business entities, using his functions, public position, acquaintances, contacts or other influence, may have received illegal monetary compensation for its impact. Adopt various laws that are important to companies. Among those bills, in late 2019, the Lithuanian budget package for 2020, bank property and profit tax laws, and others were discussed.
Such a criminal scheme is suspected to have existed for a long time.
“The manifestations of simulated lobbying revealed by this pre-trial investigation are the intolerable desire for profit, for personal gain under the guise of existing powers and influence. This situation shows once again that further discussion is necessary, seeking a solution how lobbying activities should be carried out in a transparent way, ”said Žydrūnas Bartkus, Director of STT.
“It is clear that any non-transparent, dubious, or illegal influence on legislative processes, where specific legislation potentially becomes a means to satisfy the interests of certain stakeholders rather than the general public, is a serious threat to well-being The question arises as to whether such action does not cause significant damage to the state budget, or whether it does not unduly increase the tax burden or other financial burden on our citizens. Therefore, after receiving such data, which are currently in the case, we must conduct a thorough investigation and answer all questions that arise regarding the legality of such action, “said Prosecutor General Evaldas Pašilis.
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