Officers removed several boxes of documents and an envelope from the party headquarters, located in an apartment building in the Antakalnis district.
According to Lrytas, law enforcement also conducted searches at the Seimas hotel, where Petkevičienė’s apartment is located. She confirmed this information to journalists. Officials also visited Žemaitaitis’s home. He is not currently in parliament.
In response to these events, the leadership of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) has already warned that this will influence the decision currently being considered regarding the future of the coalition.
Susiję straipsniai
According to the FNTT statement, searches are being conducted at the workplaces of the aforementioned Seimas politicians and at Nemuno Aušra's headquarters as part of an investigation into the leasing of cars for party use by Seimas members.
„This pre-trial investigation is being conducted pursuant to Article 182(2) of the Criminal Code (Fraud) to determine whether a criminal offense was committed, when Members of Parliament Žemaitaitis and Petkevičienė leased their cars to the political party Nemuno Aušra while simultaneously using these cars themselves,“ the FNTT states.
According to ELTA, the FNTT officers may take about 1.5 hours.
Initially, officers were seen entering Nemuno Aušra Vice-Chairman Robertas Puchovič office, but he himself insists that no search is taking place there.
„There are no searches taking place here (…). We have a faction here, which consists of three offices—mine, Tadas Sadauskas’s, and Remigijus Žemaitaitis’s. Nothing is happening either at my office or at Tadas’s,“ said Puchovičius.
„So far, they’re just looking at something in Remigijus Žemaitaitis’s office (at ELTA), and that’s it,“ he stated.
FNTT officers are conducting the pre-trial investigation.
The investigation was launched in early March after reviewing the information provided in the statements of the individuals involved.
The investigation is ongoing; at this stage, no charges have been filed against anyone.
Lrytas attempted to contact Žemaitaitis and Petkevičienė directly. However, the Nemuno Aušra leader’s phone was turned off, and Petkevičienė did not answer calls.
ELTA reported that FNTT officers removed several boxes of documents from the Nemuno Aušra headquarters.
The Central Election Commission (VRK) found violations regarding car rentals.
In March, the Central Election Commission (VRK) determined that the Nemuno Aušra party, in 2024, by renting cars for its leader Žemaitaitis and party member Petkevičienė and paying for the rentals from state budget allocations earmarked for the party, had misused funds, and the data presented in the financial statements was incorrect. According to the VRK’s assessment, the party was unable to substantiate EUR 49,500 in expenditures with documentation.
The VRK deemed these violations serious. Consequently, on April 2, the commission decided not to award the Nemuno Aušra party a semi-annual subsidy exceeding EUR 240,000.
Žemaitaitis and Petkevičienė were also ordered to reimburse the party 26,776 and 15,349 euros, respectively.
Žemaitaitis, Petkevičienė, and the Nemuno Aušra party appealed this CEC decision to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania. They are seeking to have the commission’s decision overturned. The court heard the case on Wednesday and plans to announce its decision on June 10.
In early February, the civic initiative Viešpirkiai disclosed a car lease agreement signed by Nemuno Aušra on January 17, 2024, valued at EUR 31,500. It was valid until November 13 of the same year, but was only made public on January 29 of this year. The contract shows that the buyer is Nemuno Aušra and the supplier is party leader Žemaitaitis.