Prosecutor General Nida Grunskienė publicly stated in the Seimas that charges of bribery under Article 225, Paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code have been brought against Starkevičius.
The aforementioned article provides that a public official or a person equivalent to a public official who, for his own benefit or that of others, directly or indirectly, himself or through an intermediary, has promised or agreed to accept, or has demanded or induced the giving of, or has accepted a bribe worth more than 250 MGL for lawful or unlawful action or inaction in the exercise of their powers, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of two to eight years. 250 MGL is equivalent to 12,500 euros.
Charges under the same article also face Saulius Skvernelis, the former leader of the Democratic Union Vardan Lietuvos, who is suspected of accepting a 51,000-euro bribe. Meanwhile, law enforcement authorities have not disclosed the amount of the bribe attributed to Starkevičius.
Susiję straipsniai
A person found guilty under the aforementioned article is subject only to the prison sentences specified in the penalty provisions; the law does not provide for probation or other penalties for this type of crime. Furthermore, upon imposing a custodial sentence, the court may confiscate property from the convicted person equivalent to the value of the bribe.
It is possible that imprisonment also faces other suspects in this case, as the organised group is charged with accepting a bribe of exceptionally high value—the organised group is suspected of having accepted a bribe of no less than 1 million 112,000 euros in bribes, which the members of the organised group divided among themselves and passed on to state politicians, including Member of Parliament Skvernelis, in exchange for political favour.
As announced by the prosecutor’s office, pre-trial investigation data indicate that Skvernelis, then leader of the Democratic Union Vardan Lietuvos, allegedly accepted a 51,000-euro bribe through his former advisor Agnė Silickienė.
It is also claimed that Skvernelis was given the alias Krabas.
The politician is implicated in a major corruption case involving the State Plant Service (VAT). As previously reported, Silickienė is also implicated in this case.
It is suspected that every month Jurijus Kornijenko, the head of the service and a figure in the case, handed over sums ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 euros in cash to Silickienė to bribe Skvernelis for his favour in the performance of his duties. Silickienė would hand these sums over to Skvernelis every month.
„Skvernelis accepted a bribe of no less than EUR 51,000 in cash for his political favour in the exercise of his duties related to the VAT’s activities, i.e., ensuring political favour in evaluating VAT activities upon receiving complaints, securing official positions at VAT for VAT Director Kornijenko and other individuals participating in the organised group, as well as selecting VAT employees, thereby creating opportunities for members of the organised group to engage in bribery,“ – states the prosecutor’s office in its letter.
The organised group also includes VAT Director Kornijenko, his advisor Aurelijus Šapranauskas, and other accomplices.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Kornijenko, Šapranauskas, and other accomplices in the criminal activity, acting in accordance with a common criminal plan, agreed in advance to commit serious criminal offences. To this end, they formed an organised group. They agreed to systematically accept bribes for their own benefit, as well as for the benefit of Mantas Butas, Silickienė, and other members of the organised group, in accordance with a pre-planned criminal corruption scheme and assigned roles.
„In carrying out this criminal plan, they accepted, on several occasions, a bribe worth more than 250 MGL directly from individuals operating within another organised group in exchange for the lawful performance of duties by public officials, i.e., the adoption of favourable decisions for natural and legal persons—by issuing certificates for cargo transported by these persons through Lithuanian territory that was subject to phytosanitary inspection at the Kaunas and Alytus regional branches and inspection points of the State Food and Veterinary Service,“ the prosecutor’s office stated in its letter.
„The bribes received were divided among the members of the organised group, and, seeking to curry favour with VAT Director Kornijenko, were passed on to politicians, including Skvernelis, through intermediaries,“ the Prosecutor’s Office adds.
The letter also states that starting in June 2025, Kornijenko, Šapranauskas, and others distributed the bribes received each month to group members and other individuals.
„Among them was Skvernelis. These circumstances were recorded in the ledgers, in which Skvernelis was assigned the alias Krabas,“ the prosecutor’s office emphasises in its letter.
ELTA notes that last December, during an investigation into large-scale corruption at the VAT, officials detained 13 individuals.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the number of suspects later increased to 15.
According to law enforcement, data collected during the investigation revealed that representatives of companies transporting plants and plant products systematically demanded and received large bribes in exchange for phytosanitary certificates issued by the VAT to freight carriers.
Even then, those named as suspects included the suspended Director of the State Plant Service, Kornijenko; his deputy, Mantas Butas; advisor Silickienė; Giedrius Urbelionis, Head of the Alytus Regional Division, and Dalia Šubonienė, acting head of the Kaunas Regional Division.
Silickienė is a former advisor to Skvernelis, a former member of the Central Election Commission, and a former chancellor of the Vilnius Regional Court.
During more than 100 searches, over EUR 1.3 million in cash and 8 kilograms of gold, valued at approximately EUR 1 million, were seized; 11,000 packs of cigarettes, 14,000 litres of alcohol, cocaine, and explosives were also found.
In February, searches were conducted at the homes and offices of parliamentarians Skvernelis and Starkevičius.
Starkevičius was a longtime member of the Seimas; he had served in parliament since 2004. The former politician, who holds a law degree, served on the Kaunas City Council, was the first deputy mayor, and served as the head of Kaunas County; in his public biography, Starkevičius also stated that he was a member of Sąjūdis.