Liberal leader calls corruption allegations against Skvernelis a blow to political system

The leader of Lithuania’s Liberal Movement, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, has described prosecutors’ move to press charges against former parliamentary speaker Saulius Skvernelis as “a serious blow to the entire political system,” state news agency BNS reported Thursday.

Prosecutor General Nida Grunskienė formally requested on Wednesday that the Seimas (parliament) lift Skvernelis’s legal immunity, accusing him of accepting at least €51,000 in bribes while in office. The cash payments were allegedly made in exchange for political favours linked to the State Plant Service (VAT), a regulatory body under the agriculture ministry.

According to investigative documents seen by BNS, former VAT director Jurijus Kornijenko, his advisor Aurelijus Šapranauskas, and others systematically distributed monthly bribes to members of a criminal group—including Skvernelis, referred to by the codename “Krabas” (Crab) in ledgers. The scheme reportedly operated from June 2025 onward.

Skvernelis, who suspended his membership in the Democrats’ “For Lithuania” party but remains an MP, called the prosecutor’s decision “surprising.” He was previously questioned as a special witness in February, alongside Conservative politician Kazys Starkevičius, who refused to testify. Starkevičius later resigned his parliamentary seat and left his party.

The corruption probe has so far led to charges against 14 individuals, including Kornijenko—appointed to lead VAT by Starkevičius during his tenure as agriculture minister—and Skvernelis’s former advisor Agnė Silickienė. Investigators allege that plant and produce importers were extorted for large bribes to obtain phytosanitary certificates. Earlier raids uncovered €1.3 million in cash, 8 kg of gold worth nearly €1 million, explosives, and cocaine.