Lithuanian prosecutor seeks to strip MP Skvernelis of immunity over €51,000 bribery allegations

Lithuania’s Prosecutor General has asked parliament to remove the legal immunity of Saulius Skvernelis, leader of the Democrats’ Union “For Lithuania” party, paving the way for formal bribery charges against the former prime minister, LRT.lt reports.

Prosecutors allege Skvernelis received at least €51,000 in cash bribes between January and May 2025, funnelled through Agnė Silickienė, a former advisor at the State Plant Service. The payments—ranging from €5,000 to €10,000 per month—were allegedly linked to Skvernelis’s influence in retaining Jurijus Kornijenko as director of the service and shielding its operations from scrutiny.

The case stems from a broader corruption probe into the Plant Service, where investigators claim a criminal group extracted some €1.5 million in bribes from companies exporting plants and plant products. In exchange for fitosanitary certificates—required for legal exports—businesses allegedly paid kickbacks totalling €1.112 million, shared among 13 suspects including Skvernelis, referred to in case files by the codename “Krabas” (Crab).

Skvernelis told LRT he had not yet seen the prosecutor’s request but confirmed he would suspend his party membership and step down as chairman, citing internal party rules that mandate resignation upon formal accusation. “We will review the content of the request, and then the actions will be legal, as they should be,” he said. Under Lithuanian law, conviction for accepting a bribe of this scale carries a prison term of two to eight years.

The investigation gained momentum in February 2026 when prosecutors raided Skvernelis’s home and office, along with those of conservative politician Kazys Starkevičius. Both were questioned as special witnesses in the case, which has already led to charges against Kornijenko and 12 other officials and private individuals.