Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas received a €200,000 loan from a company in which he holds a majority stake, raising fresh questions about his business dealings and potential conflicts of interest, according to a report by LRT Investigations Team on Monday.
The loan was issued by Emus, a company 51% owned by Paluckas. In 2023, the company lent him €180,000, with the amount increased to €200,000 in early 2024. At the end of last year, Paluckas signed an agreement with Emus to extend the repayment deadline until 2028.
Paluckas’ office defended the arrangement, saying the decision to borrow from his own company was driven by the flexibility such a loan offers.
“This type of loan can be issued more quickly, under more flexible terms, and without additional administrative or banking fees. It’s a common practice among small and medium-sized businesses,” his office told the LRT Investigations Team.
Mindaugas Milašauskas, who holds the remaining 49% of Emus shares and serves as its director, confirmed the loan will be reflected in the company’s financial statements and will accrue interest, though he declined to disclose the rate.
LRT previously reported that Paluckas purchased a 7-hectare plot in Brazil in 2023 for €180,000, which he said was financed through business income, specifically from Emus. He also owns a separate property in Turkey, reportedly acquired in a similar manner.
In his annual declarations to the State Tax Inspectorate, Paluckas reported outstanding personal loans totalling €225,600 in 2023. That figure decreased slightly to €224,000 last year. Emus had previously loaned him funds while he was a member of parliament, including €25,000 in 2018, €78,400 in 2019, and €39,700 in 2020. According to corporate filings, those loans carried an 8% annual interest rate.
Paluckas’ financial dealings have drawn increased scrutiny in recent months. In May, the investigative centre Siena and Laisvės TV, founded by journalist Andrius Tapinas, revealed that Garnis, a company partially owned by Paluckas and 51% owned by Milašauskas, received a €200,000 soft loan from Lithuania’s national development bank ILTE while Paluckas was serving as prime minister.
Public concerns have since emerged about whether the funds loaned to Garnis may have been improperly redirected to Emus, which was ineligible for ILTE funding due to its longer operating history.
In response to mounting questions, Paluckas – at the suggestion of President Gitanas Nausėda – agreed to seek a vote of confidence in the parliament, Seimas.
The latest controversy centres on revelations that Garnis was the sole winner of a publicly funded tender organised by a company established in 2023 by Paluckas’ sister-in-law. The tender involved European Union funding for the purchase of battery systems.
Paluckas has denied any legal wrongdoing and dismissed the media’s reporting as speculative.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
