“Some members of the council drove around the district so much that in many places the asphalt already needs to be changed,” A. Tapinas gritted his teeth, having discovered large amounts of different types of fuel being filled in the checks of the members of the council on the same day and almost at the same time calling it a “refueling” holiday .
Sees the siphoning of taxpayers’ money
On Sunday, the members of the Rokiškis district municipal council who served in the 2019-2023 term of office, who caused the greatest suspicion, were made public on the show “Laikykitės Ten”. “The politicians of Rokiškis district have found ways to put taxpayers’ money in their pockets,” A. Tapinas said without mincing words and joked that such are the laws of nature – money, like water, will find ways to flow.
One of them, as A. Tapinas claimed, is a member of the council Lina Meilutė-Datkūnienė. In December of the first year of the mentioned term, she allegedly purchased 321 liters of diesel for 374 euros. It is estimated that the member of the council had to drive 3,700 kilometers after pouring such amount of fuel. It is said that she gave preference to fuel from UAB “Degta” gas station in Rokišky. “There were months when she submitted checks only from Degta. For example, in February, in 2022, it poured fuel for a couple of thousand kilometers,” said A. Tapinas.
The road network of the Rokiškis district, as A. Tapinas claimed, is 570 kilometers in total. While driving around the district for thousands of kilometers, the council member must have felt like a “hamster in a circle”, according to a public figure. In his words, historically and legally, in such cases, several cars are “forced” to fuel, so that taxpayers’ money goes where it is needed.
“In the Rokiškis district, this type of refueling is a holiday called ‘refuelling’,” A. Tapinas ironically said.
It is also announced that in January 2020, L. Meilutė-Datkūnienė informed the municipality of Rokiškis district that she was going on maternity leave and sent a letter with a request not to pay her council member’s salary for her work. Later, according to A. Tapina, the politician claimed that she had participated in council meetings even during the aforementioned vacation. ”However, “Laisvės TV” journalist Rytas Staselis found documents that the council member did not participate in the plenary or committee meetings. Thus, Datkūnienė, a member of the council, absorbed the compensations with inspiration”, A. Tapinas testified.
Council member Algis Cepulis was called a “motoring enthusiast” in the show. He drew the attention of “Skaidrina” after buying 334 liters of fuel with taxpayers’ money in October 2020. It is estimated that the council member had to travel about 4 thousand on the roads of Rokiškis district
Diving between gas stations?
A member of the council also got caught under the “Skaidrinam” magnifying glass Gintaras Girštautas. “From the “Circle K” gas station in Rokišky to “Viada” – about 3 kilometers. And Girštautas dived back and forth between them. And here it is no longer a hamster in a circle, but a fish in an aquarium. November 3, 2019 at 10:38 a.m. poured at the diesel “Circle K” gas station, and after 23 minutes, the same amount poured at the ”Viada”. September 3, 2021 at 5:54 p.m. he poured 56 liters of diesel into “Viada”, and at 8:23 p.m. Circle K, where 50 liters of petrol are filled. August 9, 2021 at 7:16 p.m. to “Circle K” – 49 liters of gasoline, and 20 minutes later – to “Viada”, where 46 liters of car gas were poured. The most impressive teleportation happened on September 19, 2019, when Girštautas at 8:56 a.m. showed up at “Viada” and bought 45 liters of gasoline, and at 9:03 a.m. had bought 46 liters of gas and billed it to Circle K. Not a Lithuanian record, but the abilities are extraordinary”, A. Tapinas mentioned the facts with humor, according to which the information on the checks defies the laws of physics. “Girštautas checks are registered, but no one checks what last name you say,” concluded A. Tapinas.
Double and even triple ramparts
The then council member also got caught up in the “cheque scandal”. Dalia Lūžienė-Malijonienė. “We found a unique gas station receipt. It poured almost 42 liters of gasoline and 48 liters of diesel in one go. He paid 90 euros for the purchase and calmly left. Apparently, there was also a “filling” festival that day. In theory, it could have been the case that one type of fuel could have been poured into the car’s tank, and another into several separate containers. But the fastest way was that the lady did not come to the gas station alone. It means someone got fuel at the expense of taxpayers’ money. This member of the council was distinguished by the abundance of the network of discount cards – she had as many as 13 of them. When we already saw the check that gasoline was filled with diesel in one go, the ability of the politician to fill up with fuel in two different operations in one minute was less surprising. 60 liters of diesel and 42 liters of gasoline for 120 euros”, said A. Tapinas.
The former mayor of the district was also criticized in the show Vytautas Vilys. It is said that one visit per day was not enough for a politician either. “In December 2019 – 2 purchases of diesel
Egidius Vilimus A. Tapin called him “champion of double purchases”. “We found some of his operations really impressive. For example, March 2021 at 5:35 p.m. 100 liters of diesel is poured into “Degta”, and less than 20 minutes later – 45 liters of diesel into “Circle K”, – A. Tapinas gave an example and added that the council member did this constantly, throughout his term of office. It is claimed that it has also happened that E. Vilims delivered 3 gas station checks on the same date. “It’s filled with everything: diesel, gasoline, and gas,” said the presenter.
“Loved” the Svėdas gas station
It was also very interesting for the publicist Aušra Gudgalienė bends of checks from the gas station. “The problem is that during the term of office of 2019-2023, Gudgalieni really liked to fill up with gas at two gas stations – Rokiškis “Viada” and Svėdasui “Alauša”. The strange thing is that Gudgalienė’s favorite “Alauša” is in the Anykščiai district, while the politician herself lives in Rokišky itself. If cheaper fuel can be purchased there, the round trip would “burn” all possible benefits. However, Gudgalienė went to Svėdas often, like a seller of Gariūnai market”, commented A. Tapinas, according to whom checks were found showing that A. Gudgalienė went to the gas station twice a day.
A. Tapin was also suspicious Vidmantas Karpavičius checks. “Karpavičius had discovered the perfect scheme of sucking payments for the incurred transport expenses. However, there is one circumstance. Karpavičius had submitted dozens of checks from one gas station belonging to AB “Rokiškio sūris” and located in Obelii. The checks are issued by the operator of that gas station, who signs with the code 333. It is said that he started visiting this gas station regularly right away, only after the term began.
The operator of the gas station possibly took the opportunity to enter the personal data of Karpavičius in the checks left behind, and, one must assume, delivered the documents to the partner at the end of the month. He “bombed” the checks in bundles to the municipal accounting office. We found double acquisitions and other things there,” A. Tapinas taught.
There was another impression from the documents reviewed by “Skaidrinam”. When Karpavičius needed fuel for his car, he did not go to Obelius, but to the “Viadas” gas station.
They did not find “accounting schizophrenia” in the mayor
That’s right, the mayor Ramūnas Godeliauskas received a
commendation from A. Tapin. It was appreciated that the then and current head of the district did not try to combine the duties of mayor and council member in order to claim special benefits, like some of his colleagues, that is, mayors of other municipalities in the country. “I can’t diagnose him with accounting schizophrenia,” said A. Tapinas about Mayor R. Godeliauskas.
According to A. Tapin, although there was no huge requirement that the checks be in the name, the municipal financiers still managed to “put” the politicians on their ears, still forcing them to enter at least their most important personal data in the procurement documents. “Thus, the temptations of not-so-honest actors to stand guard at automatic gas stations and “hunt” checks from trash cans were limited,” said A. Tapinas.
An impressive number of payment cards, which were allegedly used to pay for the purchased fuel, were not found in Rokiškis.
We will publish the comments of the politicians themselves in Tuesday’s “Gimtamaje…” Read
Photo of GR and personal archives.
D not simply purchase the fuel for necessary trips but rather seemed to have patterned his refueling habits around certain gas stations in a way that raised suspicions regarding the authenticity of his reimbursements. There were numerous instances of him purchasing fuel from the same station, which seemed more indicative of a scheme to exploit taxpayer funds for personal use rather than legitimate travel expenses as a council member.
As the segment continued, A. Tapinas humorously noted that the sheer volume and frequency of these transactions suggested that Karpavičius was possibly running a “gas station” of his own, albeit unofficially. The notion that council members were leveraging their positions to engage in what appeared to be fuel fraud was brought to light, and the presenter made it clear that there was likely more to uncover regarding these transactions.
This exposé highlighted not just individual misconduct but suggested a systemic issue within the council where such behavior was overlooked or inadequately scrutinized. Audits of fuel expenditures and stricter accountability measures were called for to prevent further abuses of public funds and restore trust in public offices. The findings of “Skaidrinam” echoed a wider concern regarding the integrity of elected officials and the need for transparency in governmental financial dealings.
In summation, the discussion revolving around these council members served not only to entertain but also to educate the public on the necessity of vigilance and oversight in public service obligations. These revelations could potentially trigger calls for reform in accounting practices for municipal reimbursements to ensure that taxpayer money is indeed used for its intended purposes.