„Now it's hard for me to imagine how the Prime Minister can continue in office – he has to take responsibility, „Kasčiūnas told reporters in parliament on Tuesday.
„It's clear that ILTE's internal audit is inadequate because the institution can't control itself. This was just a smokescreen for everyone. And now everything is out in the open – an external institution has launched a pre-trial investigation, and, imagine, the Prime Minister's company is under investigation. It is a fact that the Prime Minister must take responsibility,“ the Conservative leader noted.
According to the politician, if a lower-ranking politician had found themselves in this situation, it would be possible to wait for the conclusions of the investigating authorities. However, he continued, in this case, the Prime Minister should immediately take the appropriate decisions.
„If it were a member of the Seimas, some ordinary politician, (...) that would be one thing, we could say, be a little tolerant and wait for the end of the pre-trial investigation. This is the Prime Minister's company, where are we (...) what kind of signal is this sending to other businesspeople, what kind of signal is this sending to society, what kind of sense of justice is this?“ said Kasčiūnas, emphasising that the Social Democrats should start looking for another candidate for the post of Prime Minister.
„I think the Prime Minister will cling to his position with his teeth, feet and hands, but it seems to me that the Social Democratic Party should already be looking for a better candidate. They may even have one – we will help and support them, „ emphasised the MP.
Čmilytė-Nielsen: arrogant statements that there are no problems sound different in a different light
For her part, Liberal Movement leader Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen says that the FNTT investigation only confirms that the opposition was right to raise questions about the businesses partly owned by the Prime Minister. In addition, the politician noted that the Prime Minister's explanations from the podium of the plenary session, where he claimed that the situation posed no problems, can now be viewed in a different light.
„The situation is understandably complicated for the Prime Minister. His rather arrogant statements last week, when he said very clearly that there were no problems, no irregularities, and no questions whatsoever, now sound different. I hope that now, with this new twist in the story, he will at least come to the opposition factions and answer questions,“ Čmilytė-Nielsen told journalists in the Seimas.
She also noted that, following the FNTT's announcement, the statements made by President Gitanas Nausėda's Chief Adviser, Frederikas Jansonas, seem strange, claiming that the ruling coalition 'has not done anything so significant that it could be criticised.'
„It is interesting that this coincides with the words spoken today by the president's adviser, who said that there are no complaints or reasons to criticise this coalition. Perhaps this opinion will change,“ she said.
Šadžius refrains from assessing whether the Prime Minister should take responsibility
Finance Minister Rimantas Šadžius refrains from assessing whether Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas should take political responsibility. However, in the minister's opinion, the investigation's conclusions will most likely be favourable to the Head of Government.
'It was to be expected (that an investigation would be launched – ELTA), (...) law enforcement is checking all the circumstances, let them check,' Šadžius told journalists on Tuesday.
'I think so,' the minister replied when asked whether the investigation would turn out favourably for the Prime Minister.
When it became clear that the FNTT had launched a pre-trial investigation into the Prime Minister's company, Garnis, for allegedly receiving preferential loans from the National Development Bank, Conservative leader Laurynas Kasčiūnas stated that the Head of Government should take political responsibility and that the Social Democrats should seek a new candidate for Prime Minister. However, the finance minister did not comment on such assessments.
„As I have said many times, I do not and will not comment on the Prime Minister or my fellow ministers for ethical reasons,“ said Šadžius.
Žemaitaitis: this will not prevent the Prime Minister from performing his duties
Remigijus Žemaitaitis, leader of Nemuno Aušra, claims that the pre-trial investigation launched by the FNTT into Prime Minister Paluckas' company will not prevent the Head of Government from continuing in office.
„I don't think it will prevent him. If there were any evidence that he was involved, exerted pressure, is a witness or a special witness... I don't believe that the Prime Minister could have done anything, not even the slightest thing,“ Žemaitaitis told journalists in the Seimas on Tuesday.
„And the authorities will investigate, and I am sure they will find nothing – I can guarantee that,“ he added.
Žemaitaitis is also sceptical about public calls for the Prime Minister to take responsibility for this story and resign.
„The question that interests me now is whether the Prime Minister is really under pre-trial investigation or whether he is a witness himself. Let's not rush to throw around epithets. Perhaps we should first see what kind of investigation has been launched, „ he emphasised.
„The authorities must clarify this matter. I commend the authorities; the more they investigate, the more they will uncover, and the more we will learn. I think the investigation will take two or three months, and we will see something in September, „ said the politician.
However, the leader of Nemuno Aušra party believes that this story will prompt Paluckas to hand over management of his businesses to others.
„Apparently, the Prime Minister will also decide after this story and will hand over management to his wife or some company,' he speculated.
Skvernelis says that so far, there are no questions about Paluckas' future in office
Seimas Chairman Saulius Skvernelis is not inclined to overestimate the significance of this decision by law enforcement. According to the politician, as long as the authorities have not taken any procedural steps, there is no reason to raise questions about the prime minister's future in office.
„(The decision to launch an investigation – ELTA) does not signal anything, as we attach great importance to the start of all pre-trial investigations. The Criminal Procedure Code stipulates that the main purpose of a pre-trial investigation is to determine whether a criminal offence has been committed when there are possible indications of this,“ Skvernelis told journalists in the Seimas on Tuesday.
'So far, no procedural actions have been taken against anyone. (...) So far, I don't see any problems that would raise questions about the prime minister's work or inaction,' he said, hinting that the situation would change if the prime minister were to be charged.
ELTA reminds that the FNTT has launched a pre-trial investigation into a loan granted by the national development bank ILTE to Garnis, a company partly owned by Prime Minister Paluckas. At this stage of the pre-trial investigation, no charges have been brought against anyone.
The pre-trial investigation is being organised and led by the European Public Prosecutor's Office. On Monday, the national development bank ILTE, which completed an internal audit of the circumstances surrounding the loan to Garnis, announced that it had not found any violations.
However, based on the results of the week-long audit, it will be proposed to refine the assessment of links between companies where the shareholders are natural persons and to define more clearly the requirements for capital increases in the descriptions of financial instruments.
Questions have been raised in the public sphere about the links between the Prime Minister's two companies, Emus and Garnis, with the latter having been established only last year and not as a subsidiary of Emus, which has been operating for almost 15 years, solely to take advantage of the ILTE measure Startuok, which is intended for young businesses.
The Special Investigation Service (STT) has also decided to look into the situation regarding the preferential loan to Garnis.
A joint investigation by Laisvės TV and the investigative journalism centre Siena revealed that Garnis, a company controlled by Paluckas and his business partner Mindaugas Milašauskas, received a preferential loan of EUR 200,000 from the national development bank ILTE.
It was obtained while the Social Democrat was already serving as prime minister. Paluckas himself has already explained to journalists that he is not involved in the activities of Garnis, which received the loan and sees no reason to recuse himself from decisions related to ILTE.
However, in response to calls from President Gitanas Nausėda, the Prime Minister asked the Supreme Commission for Ethics in Public Service (VTEK) to assess whether public and private interests had been conflated in this situation. The opposition in the Seimas also appealed to the VTEK.
The latter decided to launch an investigation into a possible conflict of interest. According to the Register Centre, Paluckas owns 49% of the shares in Garnis, a manufacturer of battery systems.
At the same time, the Prime Minister owns 51% of the shares in Emus, a company that manufactures lithium-ion batteries, software and systems. Milašauskas own the remaining shares in both companies. He is currently also the director of Emus.