Vilnius Regional Court has on Tuesday acquitted defendants in a political corruption case involving MG Group, one of Lithuania’s biggest business groups formerly known as MG Baltic.
In this high-profile case, Raimondas Kurlianskis, former vice-president of MG Group, was indicted on charges of bribery and influence peddling.
Meanwhile, Eligijus Masiulis, a former leader of the Liberal Movement, Šarūnas Gustainis, a former member of the party, and Labour Party MP Vytautas Gapšys were charged with receiving bribes.
Gintaras Steponavičius, a former Liberal parliamentarian, was also charged with abuse of power.
The court also acquitted MG Group, the Liberal Movement, and the Labour Party, which were charged as legal entities, after finding no traces of criminal activities in their actions.
The judgment can be appealed to the Court of Appeal.
The political corruption scandal broke out on May 12, 2016, after officers of the Special Investigation Service (STT) searched the home, workplace, and car of the then leader of the Liberal Movement Masiulis. During one of the searches, 242,000 euros were found in the politician’s house.
The prosecutor then revealed that Masiulis may have received a bribe from Kurlianskis, vice-president of MG Baltic. On the same day, Kurlianskis was arrested and detained.
On June 7, 2018, more than two years after the searches were carried out, a case of possible political corruption was opened at Vilnius Regional Court.
Loan, not bribe
The court accepted the version that 90,000 euros stuffed in a vodka bottle box given by Kurlianskis to Masiulis back in 2016 were designated for funding political activities and did not constitute a bribe.
Evidence collected by law enforcement institutions was not sufficient to prove that Masiulis accepted the money in exchange for actions in the interests of MG Group, according to Nijolė Žimkienė, a court representative.
“Under criminal law, uncertainties and doubts shall be interpreted to the benefit of the defendant in case of contradictory circumstances,” she said.
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