Lithuanian Chief of Defence General Valdemaras Rupšys receives a monthly flat allowance of 445 euros from the state, which he uses to rent an apartment from his son, the news website 15min reported on Tuesday.
According to Rupšys’ declaration of private interests, he has been renting the apartment in Vilnius since 2021. He is not paying his son the market price, but half the rent, the chief of defence noted.
He said he is taking advantage of the opportunity to receive a flat allowance, which is available to every Lithuanian soldier who does not own real estate in the area where he is serving. Rupšys owns a property in the Ignalina District, some 100 kilometres from Vilnius.
“I have the right to receive allowances, I have the right to enter into contracts with whoever is favourable to me, including my son,” he told the 15min journalist, adding that his son pays taxes on the income he receives from the rent.
The defence chief said he lives in the flat he rents from his son.
When pressed further about the ethics of using state allowance to rent a flat from his son, Rupšys snapped at the journalist and said, “Are you stupid or do you just look stupid?”
A week later, when he met the journalist, he apologised for the “lexicon” and admitted that there were loopholes in the legislation governing the receipt of allowances. Rupšys said that the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Defence Ministry are considering changes to the legislation to avoid ambiguities.
The Chief Official Ethics Commission told 15min.lt that “officers’ decisions to sign lease contracts in the area of duty are directly related to their official functions and are compensated from state funds, therefore, it is considered that renting from relatives is only possible in exceptional cases and in view of the supply on the current market”.
According to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Rupšys’ decision to spend the state allowance on renting an apartment from his son was a mistake.
“The defence chief has admitted his mistake and must correct it. Immediately afterwards, he should return to important defence issues: the development of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, its modernisation, the implementation of the NATO regional defence plans, and the readiness to receive the allied forces,” the president said in a comment sent to LRT.lt.
Terminates contract
Later on Tuesday Rupšys said he had terminated his apartment lease with his son.
“Because of the uproar, I have decided to terminate the contract today. I will continue to live with him, and I will not receive this allowance, and that settles the matter,” Rupšys told reporters during an online press conference.
However, he said he did not see a conflict of interest in his actions.
“I don’t see any conflict. [...] I am just hostage of this situation because I have no housing, and I have never owned real estate in Vilnius, and I am forced to look for a place to live as the army commander,” Rupšys said.
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