Influential conservative politician Kazys Starkevičius, who abruptly stepped down from the Seimas last month, has admitted to law enforcement that he accepted a bribe, the 15min news website reported on Wednesday.
According to 15min, the former agriculture minister from 2008 to 2012 allegedly received a cash bribe of up to 20,000 euros in October of last year. He then brought the money to the investigators, saying he regretted his actions.
It is suspected that the money was handed to him in Vilnius by businessman Danielis Krinickis, who is linked to Jurijus Kornijenko, the former head of the State Plant Service.
Krinickis is also mentioned in a separate corruption case currently before the courts, in which charges have also been brought against Šiauliai mayor Artūras Visockas.
Starkevičius said he did not want to live in constant fear and with a guilty conscience.
“I feel much relieved, I have freed myself from the burden weighing on me. It was the biggest mistake of my life, a momentary lapse of judgement,” he told 15min.
The bribery case surrounding the State Plant Service also involves the former prime minister and Seimas speaker Saulius Skvernelis, his former adviser at the service Agnė Silickienė, and several other individuals.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the total value of bribes in the case may amount to at least 1.112 million euros.
From June 2025, Kornijenko and adviser Aurelijus Šapranauskas, as well as others involved in the scheme, allegedly distributed monthly bribes received from companies transporting plants and plant products in exchange for issuing phytosanitary certificates, officials previously said.
Reciciepents of the bribes allegedly included high-ranking politicians.
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