STT: 4 judges have been granted special witness status and continue to work in court

Four parliamentarians representing the opposition requested an extraordinary meeting of the Seimas NSGK on possible manifestations and risks of corruption in the police institutions and the judiciary.

According to L. Kasčiūnas, Vice President of Seimas NSGK, the conversation with the STT chief was serious.

“The image is complex and quite complex. (…) A couple of such interesting examples, let’s say yes. Did you know that there are judges in Lithuania who are suspects in various cases, but continue to work as judges and decide cases? “, I ask.

When asked to specify which judges he was referring to, L. Kasčiūnas said that he had not heard the names of the STT representatives. But he assured that such cases exist.

Why are these judges not removed?

“Then you already know how with those exclusions: the Council of Judges, only when there is already a decision, almost everything is legal, almost everything according to the legal letter, that there must already be a sentence and the like.” And that, say, gray area, does not mean that a person can be removed from work. It’s natural here, it shouldn’t be like that, “says L. Kasčiūnas.

It is true that Renata Keblienė, director of the Communication Division of STT, later clarified that it is not correct to comment on the information provided at the Seimas NSGC meeting in public.

According to her, the situation is as follows:

• 12 judges are currently under suspicion. They no longer work in the courts (some of them are dismissed, others resign voluntarily and others are dismissed);

• Four judges have been granted special witness status and continue to work in court;

• 2 judges have been granted special witness status and are no longer working in court.

There is a lack of desire to reform

According to L. Kasčiūnas, when talking about the history of the Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT), the main problem is probably mediation schemes,

“When people who have worked, either as judges or, for example, in services, leave, they generally become lawyers and then develop various mediation schemes, involving existing officials and the like. In the case of the FNTT, such things are possible as trade in pre-trial investigations: open cases, closed cases and they can make a profit this way, ”explained the vice president of Seimas NSGK.

In the case of FNTT, these are possible things like trading in pre-trial investigations: opening cases, closing cases, and making a profit.

According to L. Kasčiūnas, in systematically combating this, it is possible to consider the fact that a person who has worked in law enforcement, after leaving the service, could become a lawyer not immediately, but after a year or more .

“Maybe during that time I would find some other activity. Maybe. It wouldn’t necessarily help, but maybe we would think in that direction. We’ve given ourselves that task, to think about certain legal changes, legal regulations,” said Seimas NSGK Vice President.

L. Kasčiūnas said that he had raised the question of whether a certain rotation of officials and an automatic distribution of cases would not be necessary.

“On the one hand, yes, you know which researcher specializes in one subject or another, he is more professional there. But at the same time, there is a risk of growing in that area, ”he said.

At the same time, L. Kasčiūnas stated that he lacked a more serious anti-corruption reaction from the leaders of certain institutions.

Speaking about the courts, the vice president of the Seimas NSGK emphasized that the STT has provided recommendations on how to deal with corruption scandals.

“There is a lack of such a desire for reform, an internal desire for reform, as we understand it. It is possible to demand a more solid management of the judiciary internally,” he emphasized.

There, as we understand it, there is a lack of such a desire for reform, an internal desire for reform.

Includes former colleagues

After the session, Ž.Bartkus said he had discussed with the Seimas members the visible risks of corruption in the field of law enforcement in Lithuania: from pre-trial investigation institutions to the courts.

“We have discussed problems in practice or trends in practice that need to be addressed and addressed,” he said.

Ž.Bartkus explained that there are risks.

According to him, there are isolated and less dangerous crimes. There are also organized crimes.

The STT chief emphasized that the most dangerous thing is the corruption initiative, which brings together and forms corruption systems.

Since, for example, corruption in the judiciary was identified last year, potential corruption was recently uncovered in financial and economic investigations.

“Connecting people, those who can find access to officials, prosecutors, judges, that is what we are talking about. And the issue was discussed and what could be done to avoid such risks,” said Ž.Bartkus.

Connecting individuals, those who can find access to officers, prosecutors, and judges.

He explained that there are isolated and systemic cases of possible corruption.

STT, as Ž.Bartkus said, has focused on detecting systemic crime for some time.

“Because the disclosure of a single crime does not fundamentally solve the problem of corruption in Lithuania. Apparently, it is good that the politicians themselves are interested in it. Because it is not enough to expose systemic corruption. It is necessary to eliminate the reasons why which could have created such a system, “he emphasized.

Disclosure of a single crime does not, in principle, solve the problem of corruption in Lithuania.

Ž.Bartkus noted that heads of institutions should pay more attention to creating an anti-corruption environment, and communities (courts, the Bar, the Prosecutor’s Office, etc.) should be more involved in this.

When asked about the riskiest, weakest and most dangerous link due to possible corruption, the STT chief said we see and talk about those people who initiate corruption.

“The lawyers involved in both identified systemic corruption cases, one a former judge and another former financial investigator, involved other former colleagues and other officials in their illegal activities. This apparently is a risk here. The question is what preventive measures could be taken? in this area, “emphasized Ž.Bartkus.

The attorneys involved in both identified systemic corruption cases, one a former judge and the other a former financial investigator, involved other former colleagues and other officials in their illegal activities.

According to him, in the absence of initiative, there may be no corruption. If only an initiative arises from a person who wants a money decision in some case, a situation arises in which, for example, an official is simply forced to choose: to act legally or illegally.

“It is very important what kind of environment is created in the institution itself. Let’s say that we already have such institutions in Lithuania, where the anti-corruption environment itself is created in such an understandable and clear way for everyone that a person in such a situation, when they have to choose, you know what behavior to choose. Inform the person responsible for the prevention of corruption. That person notifies the STT, he is captured and everything goes as it should. However, this is an aspiration in the civil service, the application of the law, not the norm, ”admitted the head of the STT.

According to Ž.Bartkus, we hear public myths that the investigation initiated by STT is collapsing. He assured me that it is not that far.

The official mentioned that in 2019, one person was acquitted in the evaluation of the final judicial decisions. 32 people were convicted, 7 were acquitted on bail.

Another scandal

On May 13, Lithuania was rocked by another corruption scandal: 11 people were arrested: 3 prosecutors, a lawyer, an official from the Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) and 6 other private individuals.

The investigation by the Office of the Attorney General and the STT deals with possible bribes and other compensation for illegal actions or omissions by law enforcement officers: information leaks, delay of cases, discussion of testimonies.

Such actions are suspected to have been carried out in particularly significant cases of property waste in bankkio bankas, credit union cases and other financial crime cases.

In Lithuania, the main corruption offenses (bribery, bribery, abuse of officials) can theoretically be punishable by up to 8 years in prison.

Until now, the police and courts have only dealt with preventive detention.

Last year, the country was rocked by another corruption scandal, when 8 judges and 5 lawyers were arrested, and the amount of bribes agreed could have reached 400,000. euros.