The Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) has detained Danas Paluckas, brother of former Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, in the coastal resort town of Palanga, LNK News reported Wednesday.
Neither the FNTT nor the European delegated prosecutors overseeing the pretrial investigation commented on the arrest.
Danas Paluckas’ wife, Virginija Paluckienė, director of the Palanga Resort Museum, owns the company Dankora. In February, Dankora announced a tender for a battery system with two inverters, which was won by the sole bidder, Garnis – a company in which Gintautas Paluckas holds a 49% stake.
Earlier this month, Dankora director Kostas Mikalajūnas was detained by the FNTT on suspicion of credit fraud and document forgery, amid allegations the company fraudulently obtained more than 136,000 euros in European Union funding. Mikalajūnas has said all purchases were public and transparent and that Gintautas Paluckas was not involved in the company’s operations.
Dankora later announced it would return the EU funding, citing the peace of mind of its management and shareholders’ families, and would continue the project using its own funds.
The same investigation is also examining possible credit fraud involving a 200,000-euro preferential loan granted to Garnis, which may have been used in the operations of another company owned by the former prime minister, Emus.
Authorities have said the investigation is progressing rapidly and that the number of detained and suspected individuals could grow.
Gintautas Paluckas resigned as prime minister and as leader of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party earlier this month following increasing scrutiny over his past and business dealings.
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