Agriculture Minister Andrius Palionis on Monday accepted the resignation of Deputy Minister Arūnas Jagminas, who is under investigation by law enforcement, the ministry confirmed to BNS.
“Minister Palionis has accepted the resignation request,” ministry spokeswoman Danguolė Starkuvienė said.
Remigijus Žemaitaitis, leader of the ruling Nemunas Dawn party, told BNS that the party’s board plans to meet Monday with Jagminas to discuss the situation. He said Jagminas is “on the periphery” of the ongoing investigation by the Special Investigation Service (STT).
“From the information we have received from the authorities, he is very far removed from that investigation […] mostly as a director signing orders,” Žemaitaitis said.
Party board member Robertas Puchovičius said the leadership will decide Monday on Jagminas’ party membership.
“We will convene soon and make a decision, but we want to hear the person’s account of the situation fully. Media reports are one thing, hearing from him directly is another,” Puchovičius said.
Jagminas has been ordered not to leave the country as a precautionary measure.
Jagminas is suspected of misappropriating assets and abusing his position while previously serving as director of a company. On Friday, Palionis said he hoped the deputy minister would resign himself, without waiting for the investigation to conclude.
The STT is carrying out procedural actions as part of a pretrial investigation into possible corruption by the former head of Šilutės sportas, a company managed by the Šilutė district municipality.
Investigators allege that while serving as a company director, Jagminas may have abused his position and misused valuable company assets under his control.
Jagminas was director of the construction company Šilutės polderiai from 2010 to 2022.
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