Politician dismisses ethics violation ruling as “worthless” decision

The leader of Lithuania’s Nemuno aušra party, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, has rejected a ruling by the country’s top ethics watchdog that he committed a “serious violation” of conflict-of-interest laws, calling the decision “of zero value” and politically motivated, LRT reports.

Lithuania’s Chief Official Ethics Commission (VTEK) found that Žemaitaitis breached the Law on Coordination of Interests by participating in his party’s decision to rent his personal vehicle without recusing himself and failing to declare the rental agreement in time. The commission classified the violation as serious, stating that he had advanced his private interest while acting in a conflict-of-interest situation.

“This decision is worthless—they could make a hundred of them, and it wouldn’t matter to me,” Žemaitaitis told BNS on Tuesday. “When you know political decisions are being made, there’s no point paying attention to them.”

He accused the watchdog of double standards, arguing that similar arrangements in non-political organisations would not face scrutiny. “If this were Gabrielius Landsbergis [leader of the opposition Homeland Union], it wouldn’t be a violation, but because it’s Žemaitaitis, it is,” he said. “Any rational person sees this is blatant politicking, not a search for legal clarity.”

The ethics investigation began after reports emerged that Žemaitaitis, as party chairman, had signed a car rental agreement with himself as a private individual. According to VTEK, the party’s board discussed the rental on January 15, 2024, with Žemaitaitis proposing the deal, participating in the vote, and signing the meeting’s minutes. Two days later, the party—represented by Žemaitaitis himself—formally signed the rental contract with him. The agreement was later amended, initially signed by hand and later with a qualified electronic signature.

VTEK chair Gediminas Sakalauskas confirmed the findings, stating: “We identified a serious violation of the law and a failure to recuse himself—a classic conflict of interest. We also found he did not update his private-interest declaration on time.”

Žemaitaitis countered that other high-ranking officials, such as the speaker of parliament or prime minister, similarly use official transport for public engagements without facing consequences. “This shows how they’ll clutch at anything to target you,” he said.