Financial crime investigators raid offices linked to former PM advisor Vigilijus Jukna

Lithuania’s Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) conducted raids on Wednesday in Kaunas and Marijampolė districts as part of a pre-trial investigation into the alleged misuse of EU agricultural training funds by companies tied to Vigilijus Jukna, a former advisor to Prime Minister Ingrida Ruginienė, LRT.lt reports.

The FNTT confirmed searches at locations connected to the non-governmental organisation Mokslinės paslaugos (Scientific Services) and Vytautas Magnus University’s Agriculture Academy, both led by Jukna. Investigators suspect the entities falsely claimed EU subsidies for farmer training sessions that either had no attendees or were held in empty lecture halls.

According to the FNTT, two legal entities may have defrauded the EU fund administrator of nearly €400,000 and attempted to secure an additional €188,000 through deceptive documentation. The probe focuses on potential charges of large-scale document forgery and credit fraud, which carry maximum penalties of five and eight years’ imprisonment, respectively.

The investigation follows a journalistic exposé by news portal 15min.lt, which revealed that training courses organised by Jukna’s entities—formally approved for €300,000 in EU funding—were either cancelled due to lack of participants or held without attendees, violating funding rules. The National Paying Agency had already disbursed over €200,000 before the irregularities surfaced.

Jukna, who resigned as Ruginienė’s public advisor on Tuesday, previously served as an agricultural policy advisor to former Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas and held senior research roles at Vytautas Magnus University. He was also a member of the Seimas Rural Affairs Committee from 2020 to 2024.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office and FNTT launched the pre-trial investigation in mid-March after receiving evidence of the alleged scheme. The case remains ongoing.