“I think that enough evidence has been collected that the convicts sought personal gain. The court of first instance rightly found that they carried out public procurement in violation of the provisions of the law. (..) RM Račkauskas acted inappropriately in his high position, he prevented other suppliers from participating in other procurements, (..) corruption crimes are viewed negatively by the public,” prosecutor Darius Valys said at the Court of Appeal on Thursday.
In his speech, the former general prosecutor also emphasized that the high-ranking politician undermined the authority of not only the municipality, but also the state itself.
ELTA reminds that in 2022 The Šiauliai District Court found the mayor of Panevėžys guilty of abuse and fined him 30,000. EUR fine, as well as deprived of the right to work in the civil service for five years.
G. Maskoliūnienė was also found guilty, she was awarded 25 thousand. EUR fine, she was also deprived of the right to work in the civil service for five years.
However, a year later, in 2023 In January, the Court of Appeal of Lithuania annulled the decision of the first instance court and acquitted the mayor of Panevėžys RM Račkauskas and his advisor G. Maskoliūnienė for abuse. However, in December of the same year, the Supreme Court of Lithuania returned the case to the Court of Appeals for re-examination.
Šiauliai District Court in 2022 in January, RM Račkauskas and G. Maskoliūnienė were found guilty of abusing their position as civil servants, acting in a group of accomplices, for the personal benefit of RM Račkauskas. The criminal case against the third defendant, M. Vaupš, head of the advertising agency, was terminated after his death.
The judgment of the court of first instance recognized that the mayor of Panevėžys, with the help of his advisor G. Maskoliūniene, gave illegal instructions to the employees of the Panevėžys municipal administration.
According to the law enforcement, the aim was that the company “Lukrecijos reklama” related to M. Vaupš won the public procurement tenders organized by the administration of Panevėžys city municipality. The scope of purchased services, technical specifications, service prices were coordinated with M. Vaupš in advance.
In addition, according to the data of the case, it was also agreed on further cooperation, that is, that the Panevėžys city municipality administration will continue to purchase consulting services from the company represented by M. Vaupš in the future. The prosecutor’s office claims that in addition to the services officially purchased by the municipality, RM Račkauskas was also given personally, as a politician, useful consultations in preparation for the 2019 municipal mayoral elections.
Did not attend the last meeting
RM Račkauskas did not appear at the last hearing of the Lithuanian Court of Appeal held in Vilnius on Thursday, he reported that he had gone on a business trip to Finland. He did not object to the case being examined in his absence, the head of Panevėžys stated his position on the charges in previous hearings.
Judge Aušra Bielskė announced that the decision in this case will be announced in about two months – on October 10.
“28-volume case, complex issues,” the judge said. She admitted that she is now writing verdicts in six other cases, so the verdict in the case of RM Račkauskas will be announced only in October.
His former adviser, G. Maskoliūnienė, as her own lawyer, gave long speeches lasting several hours in court.
“I ask that the verdict of the first instance court be annulled and a new verdict of acquittal be passed. The communication department of the municipality did not have a communication strategy, it only wrote reports, answered journalists’ questions, services were constantly being purchased at considerable prices”, said G. Maskoliūnienė.
She wondered about the motives of the prosecutor’s office about personal gain, saying that in such a case, every reconstructed school or park should be labeled as useful for the mayoral election.
“It was the services of Vaupš that gave the municipality the tools and competencies to achieve excellent results for Panevėžys, establishing itself as a city of industrial tourism, as a city attractive to investors,” she said.
The former adviser asked her to be acquitted, saying she was only doing her job.
G. Maskoliūnienė’s lawyer Snieguolė Jurskytė-Ignatavičienė said she believes that the Court of Appeal will not rewrite the previous documents and that the assessment of the evidence in this case will be comprehensive and objective.
2024-08-22 18:56:16