Lithuanian court overturns acquittal in “receipts scandal” case, convicts ex-councillor

A Lithuanian appeals court has overturned the acquittal of former Marijampolė municipal councillor Vaida Giraitytė-Juškevičienė, finding her guilty of abuse of office, fraud, and document forgery in the so-called “čekiukų” (receipts) scandal, LRT reports.

The court sentenced Giraitytė-Juškevičienė to a €6,000 fine and banned her from public service for three years. The ruling takes immediate effect but may still be appealed to Lithuania’s Supreme Court.

According to case materials, between June 2019 and November 2020, while serving as a Marijampolė council member, Giraitytė-Juškevičienė falsified 15 expense reports, submitting false claims for fuel and mobile phone costs allegedly incurred in her official capacity.

Investigators found that the municipality had paid for three mobile phones registered under her name, two of which were actually used by her parents. Giraitytė-Juškevičienė argued that her parents lacked technical skills, so she managed the phones for them.

The Kaunas Regional Court had acquitted her in June last year, ruling that prosecutors failed to disprove her claims about family assistance. The appeals court rejected that reasoning, finding the evidence sufficient for conviction.

Giraitytė-Juškevičienė, a former member of the Labour Party, served in Lithuania’s parliament (Seimas) from 2020 to 2024 and previously held roles in Marijampolė’s council (2007–2020) and as an advisor to the Minister of Social Security and Labour (2013–2015).