Skvernelis, Žiponėlis, and the social democrat Paluckas are all sitting in the pocket of musician Landsbergis. Skvernelis says that their common briber, Vilčinskas, is also connected to the holiest family in Lithuania – the Landsbergis. Why do we still need such all-powerful “holiest” people in Lithuania?

 

"After the second part of the journalistic investigation into Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas’s business dealings was published, the Speaker of the Seimas, Saulius Skvernelis, says that he is only concerned about the circumstances of the Prime Minister’s purchase of an apartment.

 

“It seems to me that the Prime Minister should answer for the different prices and circumstances of the purchase of the apartment,” S. Skvernelis said in the Seimas on Monday.

 

“I think that he probably has to say something about the apartment, and I don’t see any problem here, because G. Paluckas was probably not alone like a church mouse before his marriage and purchase of the apartment. But he himself needs to answer for this,” he emphasized.

 

At the end of last week, a group of representatives of the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) faction prepared a list of questions for the Prime Minister related to the Prime Minister's businesses and relations with businessman Darijus Vilčinskas. G. Paluckas is expected to answer these questions during the Seimas session on Monday.

 

In turn, the leader of the parliament says that the Prime Minister should not have any difficulties in answering the questions submitted by the opposition.

 

"From the text that I have read, it will probably not be difficult for the Prime Minister to answer," S. Skvernelis assured.

 

He believes that the Vilnius Municipality made the right decision by taking over the Trade Union Hall

 

The study presented on Sunday indicates that G. Paluckas, who had relations with D. Vilčinskas and worked as vice-mayor at the time, also participated in voting for 6 million EUR 100 million of municipal funds were paid to the company VIPC Vilnius, which is related to this businessman, for the takeover of the Trade Unions Hall, which it manages, for public needs.

 

In turn, S. Skvernelis insists that by taking over the Trade Unions Hall, the municipality made the right decision, which, according to the leader of the Seimas, was sought not only by G. Paluckas, but also by the current Mayor of Vilnius, Valdas Benkunskas.

 

“I can now say what and how I would do it, but it was not only the left side that was working on the Trade Unions Hall. The right side was also working on it. And at that time, the vice-mayor was not only G. Paluckas, but also Mr. Benkunskas,” S. Skvernelis told journalists in the Seimas.

 

“Those palaces were taken care of by the Committee of the House of Peoples, the esteemed Juozas Olekas, and Vytautas Landsbergis, but it seems to me that the municipality made the right decision, and (…) the court decided what the final price is (…). I don’t think that anyone there earned much or not (…). Of course, now I can say: if I had been in that situation, I would have done things differently,” said the parliamentary leader.

 

Mentions possible ties between D. Vilčinskas and the Landsbergis family

 

True, when talking about the relationship between the prime minister and businessman D. Vilčinskas, the Speaker of the Seimas notes that he himself maintains a friendly relationship with D. Vilčinskas.

 

“It’s difficult for me to be objective, because (this – ELTA) also concerns my friend,” the Seimas leader told journalists.

 

“I myself have been communicating with Darius for a very long time, probably more than 25 years. (…) I have been communicating, I am communicating and I will continue to communicate,” he assured.

 

In addition, according to the head of parliament, the Landsbergis family is also connected to this businessman.

 

“I don’t know why you are making him a scandalous businessman or something else, but there is a very strong connection with the holiest family in Lithuania – the Landsbergis family, so maybe we should look at that too,” S. Skvernelis said in the Seimas.

 

“First of all, it also raises questions for me that if the books of a holy man – Vytautas Landsbergis – and his son are being financially supported by businessman Darijus V., then it seems to me that the businessman is also holy,” he added.

 

I don’t know why you are making him a scandalous businessman or something else, but there is a very strong connection with the holiest family in Lithuania – the Landsbergis family, so maybe we should look at that too.

 

ELTA reminds that the second part of the journalistic investigation into the business of Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas raises questions about the company “Sagerta”, which developed a lake bottom topography application and was managed by the Head of Government until 2018, and the hundreds of thousands of loans it received from the company “Uni Trading” of businessman Darijas Vilčinskas.

 

In 2013, “Sagerta”, acquired by G. Paluckas, operated at a loss, but received more than 233 thousand litas in shareholder loans – although G. Paluckas was listed as the sole shareholder of the company in the Centre of Registers at that time, he did not indicate these loans in his declarations of assets and interests.

 

The investigation data showed that these loans were actually provided by the company of businessman D. Vilčinskas – the Centre of Registers received information retroactively that, in 2015, when G. Paluckas became the vice-mayor of Vilnius, he had a share – 45 percent – the company’s shares were transferred to Uni Trading for management.

 

D. Vilčinskas claims that he was not the actual owner of Uni Trading owner and the source of finance for G. Paluckas’ company. The prime minister himself told the journalists who conducted the investigation that he did not know who controlled the company that provided annual loans to his business.

 

G. Paluckas, who had connections with D. Vilčinskas and worked as vice-mayor, also decided on the payment of 6 million euros of municipal funds to the company “VIPC Vilnius”, associated with this businessman, for the takeover of the Trade Unions’ Chamber for public needs.

 

There are more connections between G. Paluckas and D. Vilčinskas. In 2012, the future prime minister purchased a house worth 223 thousand euros from a company run by the businessman in the territory of the capital’s Verkiai Regional Park, which he also did not declare in his 2013 declarations of assets and interests.

 

ELTA reminds that the first part of the investigation by the investigative journalism center "Siena" and "Laisvės TV" raises questions regarding the preferential loan received by the national development bank ILTE from the company "Garnis", partly owned by G. Paluckas. This happened when G. Paluckas was already serving as prime minister.

 

The Chief Official Ethics Commission (VTEK) has already launched an investigation into a possible conflict of interest of G. Paluckas. In turn, ILTE conducted an internal inspection, during which no violations of procedures were identified.

 

The Financial Crimes Investigation Service (FNTT) has also launched a pre-trial investigation, and the State Tax Inspectorate (VMI) has also initiated an inspection into the circumstances of the use of the loan.

 

V. Čmilytė-Nielsen: the prime minister could test his confidence in the Seimas

 

Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, the chairwoman of the Liberal Movement, says that after a new journalistic investigation into the businesses of Prime Minister G. Paluckas, the prime minister could test his confidence in the Seimas. According to the politician, the position of the Presidency will also be important in this situation – how the new, questionable information will be assessed.

 

“Two things are important. One thing, of course, is the assessment of the president, because the president is not only the godfather of this coalition, not only has he repeatedly mentioned that he finds this coalition pleasant for joint work. But at the same time, the prime minister could certainly test his confidence in the Seimas,” V. Čmilytė-Nielsen told journalists in the Seimas on Monday.

 

“No, (the prime minister – ELTA) does not have confidence until the questions are answered, until they are avoided,” she said.

 

V. Čmilytė-Nielsen also criticizes the reaction of the prime minister’s team to the journalistic investigation. As reported, Justinas Argustas, the prime minister’s advisor, told LRT radio that the text and video published by “Siena” and “Laisvės TV” resemble speculation and fantasies.

 

The prime minister could certainly test his confidence in the Seimas.

 

“There are many questions, we still really lack answers. It is disappointing that the Prime Minister and his team are sinking deeper and deeper into such a blind defense. Neither jokes, nor insolent answers, nor belittling of history will dispel the shadow that is now there, nor the stains that seem to be in the Prime Minister’s biography,” the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas noted.

 

“You want to believe that today the Prime Minister will provide at least some of the answers. But we, the Liberal Movement faction, will once again repeat our open invitation to him to come to our faction today,” she added, reminding that the faction she leads has invited the Prime Minister to a meeting to answer the remaining questions regarding journalistic investigations.

 

M. Lingė: Opposition does not rule out the possibility of initiating an interpellation of G. Paluckis

 

Mindaugas Lingė, the elder of the conservative faction belonging to the Seimas opposition, says that the Head of Government no longer has confidence, therefore the opposition does not rule out the possibility of initiating an interpellation of him in the Seimas. According to the politician, the newly emerged information also requires a principled assessment of the country's leader.

 

"There remains a large and open space for questions, which the Prime Minister does not remember and has not said in his declarations. (…) In our eyes, such a Prime Minister does not have confidence and would certainly no longer be able to hold office, therefore the President's principled assessment is particularly important and expected here, if it would be difficult for the Prime Minister himself to personally make a decisive political decision," M. Lingė told journalists in the Seimas on Monday.

 

"All options are being considered," the politician assured when asked whether the opposition does not rule out the possibility of initiating an interpellation of the Prime Minister.

 

M. Lingė added that the most questions in the new investigation are raised by loans received by companies previously owned by G. Paluckas, but not repaid, which give the impression that the prime minister may have accepted a bribe.

 

“If loans are not repaid and are provided free of charge, then they should probably not be called loans, but by another name,” the parliamentarian said.

 

At the last sitting of the Seimas spring session on Monday, the conservatives will invite the prime minister to the rostrum of the plenary hall.

 

“We want to hear from the prime minister himself today and in the hall – maybe he remembered something after all, because it shows that he has been forgetting a lot in the last few days,” said the politician, a in response to G. Paluckas' earlier statements that he does not remember his visits to the national development bank ILTE, which provided a loan to a company partly owned by the prime minister.

 

"The question here is not about old age or the distant past, but about the incumbent prime minister, who is constantly caught up in such stories where there are more questions than answers," said M. Lingė."

 

Who is G. Paluckas' friend D. Vilčinskas, who made headlines in a scandalous investigation about the prime minister?

“On Sunday, an investigation published by the investigative journalism center "Siena" and "Laisvės TV" revealed close ties between Gintautas Paluckas and businessman Darijus Vilčinskas.

According to the investigation conducted by the investigative journalism center "Siena" and "Laisvės TV", in 2004 the holiday home "Ąžuolynas" received a permit to build a yacht club, restaurant and yachtsmen's hotels in Juodkrantė, but as soon as construction began, the holiday home "Ąžuolynas" sold the buildings to the company "Verslo investicijų projektų centras" controlled by Darijus Vilčinskas. This company completed the construction and sold them to different owners.

However, questions soon arose as to whether these buildings were standing legally, and in 2010. the court ordered their demolition. People who bought housing there had to return it to the “Business Investment Project Center”, and the company had to return the 1.3 million euros they had paid to the people. However, the people never got their money back – D. Vilčinskas’ company soon announced that it was having financial problems and began bankruptcy proceedings. “Business Investment Project Center” was deregistered in 2022.

This story was also described by the news portal Lrytas. As D. Vilčinskas said in an interview given to the portal in 2013, of the three houses that the court ordered to be demolished, he owned only one at the time, and the demolition work had already begun. At that time, the businessman hoped to claim a considerable amount from the state for the whole situation. “We have already filed a 10.5 million litas (about 3 million euros – author’s note) lawsuit against the state to cover the damage. The houses were built after obtaining all the necessary permits, the building inspectorate accepted them. However, this amount is for three houses, and I am only demolishing the house that belongs to me. The other two belong to other owners, although I am the builder. In other words, I am obliged to demolish all three houses in Juodkrantė. I am implementing the court decision,” the businessman said 12 years ago.”

How is this connected to Landsbergis?

 

“Vytautas V.Landsbergis confirmed that D.Vilčinskas supported the publication of the book “Rudnosiukas-2” and the family connection. “There is no secret here, we publish many books thanks to sponsors. Even the book Rudnosiukas-2, which Darijus symbolically supported once, because it was intended for my goddaughter, the daughter of Darijus and his wife (my wife’s cousin). A very great child and it is a pity that Skvernelis decides to put the children under his skidding tractor,” Vytautas V.Landsbergis announced.”