The regional court in Lithuania’s second-largest city of Kaunas on Monday found Jonava District Mayor Mindaugas Sinkevičius guilty of abuse of office, the falsification of documents, and misappropriation.
Sinkevičius was fined 12,500 euros and banned from being elected or appointed to state and municipal positions for three years.
The sentence can be appealed to the Lithuanian Court of Appeal within 20 days.
According to the court, Sinkevičius’ actions have caused Jonava District Municipality material and non-material damage of 1,487 euros.
The Jonava District mayor vows to appeal the verdict and says he has no plans to resign.
“This ruling is not the end of the matter; it is an interim ruling. Once we get acquainted with the material of this case and the reasons for this ruling, we will consider appealing it,” he told reporters on Monday.
On the basis of the data collected during the pre-trial investigation, the Special Investigation Service (STT) officials have filed charges against Sinkevičius for the damage of 1,487 euros that may have been inflicted on the administration of the Jonava District Municipality in 2019–2023.
It is suspected that during the period in question, Sinkevičius used municipal funds allocated for the performance of his duties to buy goods for his personal use and pay for mobile phone services used by his wife.
Before the case was opened, Sinkevičius paid back 4,015 euros into the municipal budget, claiming that his personal telephone bills were accidentally paid with his official funds.
In November 2023, the politician suspended his membership of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) and his powers as president of the Association of Local Authorities.
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