Court returns high-profile VAT fraud case against Rimandas Stonys to prosecutors
A Kaunas district court has returned to prosecutors the criminal case against one of Lithuania’s wealthiest businessmen, Rimandas Stonys, and four other defendants accused of large-scale VAT fraud, ruling that the indictment fails to meet legal standards, LRT reports.
The case, which alleges over €1.3 million in damages to the state, was sent back due to “fundamental deficiencies” in the indictment, including unclear accusations, unsupported factual claims, and outdated legal references. Judge Virginijus Kalkauskas gave prosecutors three months to address the flaws.
“The charges cannot be based on assumptions, unestablished circumstances, or actions attributed to entirely different individuals,” the court stated in its Wednesday ruling. It also noted that some laws cited in the indictment as critical to the case are no longer in force.
Prosecutors have already announced plans to appeal the decision to the Kaunas Regional Court. “After reviewing the ruling, the prosecutor disagrees with its reasoning and is preparing a substantiated appeal,” said prosecutor’s office representative Agnė Pociūtė.
The case, initially transferred to court a year ago, accuses Stonys, Rolandas Mažrimas, Darius Daugalas, Linas Marijus Vaitkevičius, Mindaugas Žalimas, and the company Kaunas Thermal Power Plant of orchestrating a scheme between August 2020 and March 2021. Investigators allege the group used falsified VAT invoices to fabricate transactions—including fictitious purchases of over 9,000 tons of rapeseed and 26 tons of crude rapeseed oil—to evade €1.36 million in taxes.
The probe, led by the Kaunas Regional Prosecutor’s Office and the Financial Crime Investigation Service, suggests the fraud involved more than 300 fake invoices. Under Lithuanian law, such large-scale VAT fraud carries potential penalties of up to eight years in prison.
Stonys and other suspects were detained in March 2021; Stonys spent several days in custody before his release.