Lithuanian audit committee calls for prosecutor’s investigation into Rūdninkai demining tender

The Lithuanian parliament’s Audit Committee has unanimously requested that prosecutors launch an investigation into the procurement process for demining services at the Rūdninkai military training ground, awarded to Kaunas-based company Taiklu, LRT reports.

Committee chairman Artūras Skardžius told BNS the decision follows a review of findings by the Public Procurement Office (VPT), which raised concerns over irregularities in the tender. The committee also proposed that the Ministry of National Defence exclude intermediary purchases from public procurement.

Suspicions include an unusually low bid price, altered contract deadlines that should have triggered a new tender, and unequal treatment of bidders during undisclosed negotiations. Taiklu was allegedly added to the shortlist under different criteria than other participants.

The Military Police are already conducting a pre-trial investigation into a separate procurement from Taiklu for stump-grinding services, required during land clearance for the Rūdninkai training facility. That probe began after the Ministry of National Defence referred the case to prosecutors.