Lithuanian President Calls Nemuno Aušra Party a “Constant Source of Scandals and Legal Cases”

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has described the ruling coalition’s Nemuno Aušra party as a “constant source of scandals, controversies, and legal cases,” following raids by the Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) at the offices of two party lawmakers and its headquarters, LRT.lt reports.

On Thursday, FNTT officers conducted searches in the parliamentary offices of Remigijus Žemaitaitis and Daiva Petkevičienė, as well as at the party’s central office, seizing several boxes of documents. The raids stem from an ongoing investigation into alleged financial violations.

Speaking to reporters, Nausėda stated that the party has been “plagued by systematic scandals” since joining the governing coalition. “What is happening now is a logical continuation of issues that began much earlier,” he said, adding that he expects investigating authorities to carry out their work “precisely and without political bias.”

The president emphasised that such probes could help “cleanse the political environment of things that simply should not exist in politics.”

Earlier this year, Lithuania’s Central Electoral Commission ruled that Nemuno Aušra had misused state funding by leasing vehicles for Žemaitaitis and Petkevičienė without proper documentation, violating funding regulations. The party was stripped of a €241,800 state subsidy and ordered to repay over €40,000, a decision currently under appeal.

The commission also found that the party had submitted false information to electoral authorities, classifying the violations as “gross.”

Žemaitaitis and Petkevičienė have publicly maintained their innocence. Following the raids, Žemaitaitis told media he remained “calm” about his political future, stating, “Nothing will come of this.” Petkevičienė similarly claimed that “nothing was found” during the search of her office.