Lithuanian ex-PM Šimonytė denies party link to agriculture corruption case

Former Lithuanian prime minister Ingrida Šimonytė stated on Wednesday she has “no grounds” to suggest the State Plant Service corruption scandal is connected to the conservative Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) as a party, LRT reports.

Her comments follow the resignation of former agriculture minister Kazys Starkevičius from both parliament and the TS-LKD after he admitted accepting a bribe of up to €20,000 in the ongoing case. The investigation centres on allegations that Plant Service officials systematically demanded kickbacks for issuing phytosanitary certificates.

“Can we say this case is somehow linked to the Homeland Union as a party? I have no basis to say that,” Šimonytė told journalists. “Kazys Starkevičius was a TS-LKD politician, so you can make that connection, but I truly see no link to the party as a community—and I hope I never will.”

She emphasised that had she, as prime minister, received any indications of potential crimes within the Plant Service, “there would have been certain actions taken.” Šimonytė noted she had discussed corruption risks with the Special Investigation Service (STT) following earlier scandals at the State Food and Veterinary Service, but said she had “no specific information, remarks, or warnings” about the Plant Service or Starkevičius when appointing him in July 2024.

Prosecutors allege the bribery scheme, led by former Plant Service director Jurijus Kornijenko, may have involved over €1.1 million in kickbacks since mid-2025. Among those implicated are former prime minister and Seimas speaker Saulius Skvernelis and his ex-adviser Agnė Silickienė. Businessman Danielius Krinickis, linked to Kornijenko, is suspected of delivering the bribe to Starkevičius.

TS-LKD leader Laurynas Kasčiūnas told BNS the party’s Supervisory Committee will review Starkevičius’s admission, though he expressed hope the former minister would resign voluntarily. “His departure is only a matter of time,” Kasčiūnas said.

Šimonytė called Starkevičius’s appointment in 2024 a “natural choice” for the interim period after President Gitanas Nausėda refused to endorse Kęstutis Navickas as agriculture minister following the presidential election. She added that while Starkevičius’s confession may ease his legal accountability, “what shocks me is the fact that it happened—that he took [the bribe], not that he confessed.”