“Evaldas Gudynas, a site manager for the Vilnius-based
construction company *Versiculus*—accused of bribing a National Defence System
employee with €3,000 in cash, wine, and snacks—claims he merely wanted to
present a Christmas gift in recognition of a good working relationship and
cooperation during the execution of a contract.
"Defendant Evaldas Gudynas, give me a straight answer:
did you pay a bribe or not?" prosecutor Darius Valkavičius asked during a
hearing at the Kaunas District Court in Kaišiadorys on Thursday.
"No, I didn't. Perhaps I misjudged the nature of the
relationship and acted inappropriately," E. Gudynas replied.
"Do you often give such gifts?" the prosecutor
continued.
E. Gudynas admitted that he does not usually give gifts of
this kind.
Charges in the alleged corruption case have been brought
against the aforementioned construction company, *Versiculus*, and one of its
shareholders, the aforementioned E. Gudynas.
According to case files, the illicit payment was handed over
to a military representative last December in Kaunas, near the *Akropolis*
shopping and entertainment center. Ignas Šaudys, a facility maintenance
engineer at the Garrison Support Service of the Lithuanian Armed Forces
Logistics Command, previously revealed in court how a bribe was allegedly
offered to him in exchange for favorable treatment regarding the renovation of
the Lithuanian Officers' Club in Kaunas. Upon receiving the illicit gift, he immediately
reported the matter to his employer. I. Šaudys had been handed a bag containing
3,000 euros in cash, a bottle of wine, and snacks.
"I suggested meeting—I proposed a meeting regarding
Christmas matters; I had prepared a Christmas gift. I drove up, offered my
greetings, and left. Yes, I initiated the meeting; I wanted to wish him a Merry
Christmas. Yes, I handed over the gift bag; it contained a box of snacks,
bottles of wine, and an envelope with money—3,000 euros: thirty 100-euro
banknotes. That amount seemed appropriate to me for a gift. The goal was to
offer Christmas greetings. We got along quite well while the work on the site
was being carried out. We could chat after work. A rather warm relationship had
developed. I thought our relationship was great and would continue that
way," E. Gudynas recounted in court.
He admitted that the military representative had never
demanded gifts from him. According to E. Gudynas, he met with the military
representative near the "Akropolis" shopping center to discuss
construction work; he stated that he received documents from I. Šaudys.
"I took the documents and wished him a Merry Christmas
on my own behalf. He remained standing there, and I drove off; it was a brief
meeting. I was heading to Kaunas and had other business along the way—I also
had to be in Rumšiškės. The contract was not being executed at that time,"
E. Gudynas told the court.
According to the accused, the construction site was locked
at the time of the incident and no work was taking place there, so there was no
reason for him and I. Šaudys to meet at the site itself.
"I. Šaudys simply expressed his thanks, saying, 'Thank
you, you didn't have to do that.' I told him it was a small gesture and drove
away," the accused recalled.
E. Gudynas states that he views the incident differently
now.
"I view the action very negatively; at the time, I
didn't think about legality or illegality—I simply felt I was offering someone
holiday greetings," the accused admitted in court.
He stated that the money handed over was his personal
property; he had kept the cash to ensure his family's safety in the event of
war. According to the Special Investigation Service (STT) and the Prosecutor's
Office, the body of evidence gathered during the investigation provides
reasonable grounds to suspect that a bribe was offered to secure the favorable
disposition of an individual—classified as equivalent to a civil
servant—regarding the assessment of construction work performed by a company
under a public procurement contract with the Ministry of National Defence. The
contract is valued at over €1.287 million.
ELTA notes that last December, the Ministry of National
Defence received a report via its internal whistleblowing channel indicating
that a bribe had allegedly been offered to an employee of the national defense
system.
The employee in question personally informed the Ministry’s
Corruption Prevention and Investigation Division about the matter.”
Sitting atop this whole circus are Nausėda and other talking
heads, shouting: "We’re under attack, we’re under attack! Give us
money—and fast."
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