Lithuanian MP Gintautas Paluckas suspends party membership, waives immunity amid corruption probe

Lithuanian MP and former prime minister Gintautas Paluckas has suspended his membership in the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (LSDP) and will waive his parliamentary immunity, following a prosecutor’s request to bring charges against him for alleged illicit enrichment, LRT reports.

The move comes as prosecutors seek to formally charge Paluckas in a long-running pre-trial investigation into suspected abuse of office and unlawful asset acquisition. The case, launched last summer by the Special Investigations Service (STT), stems from journalistic investigations by Laisvės TV and the Siena Center for Investigative Journalism, which uncovered that Paluckas had acquired and led a company, Sagerta, that received €180,000 in unrepaid loans of unclear origin.

Investigators allege Paluckas illegally amassed assets worth over €45,000. Questions have also been raised about his 2021 purchase of a Vilnius apartment for €223,000. Separately, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) are probing potential credit fraud linked to a state-backed loan granted to another of his firms, Garnis.

Paluckas, who resigned as prime minister and LSDP leader in August 2023 amid the scandal but remained in parliament, was questioned as a special witness in January. The Prosecutor General has now formally requested that the Seimas (parliament) strip his legal immunity via an expedited procedure.

LSDP deputy chair Rasa Budbergytė told ELTA she expects Paluckas to comply with the immunity waiver, calling the prosecutor’s request “not unexpected.” She added that the party’s parliamentary faction would support lifting immunity to allow a full investigation. Presidential officials confirmed President Gitanas Nausėda “trusts law enforcement institutions” to handle the case.