Lithuanian MP denies his companies funded political party

Lithuanian MP Robertas Puchovičius has denied allegations that two of his companies indirectly funded the “Nemuno aušra” (Nemunas Dawn) party, following a report by a working group of the Central Electoral Commission (VRK), public broadcaster LRT reports.

Speaking to BNS news agency, Puchovičius stated: “I don’t really understand why they now want to claim that my companies funded something, because my companies didn’t fund anything.”

The VRK working group’s investigation suggests that the election campaigns of “Nemuno aušra” and its leader, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, may have been financed by two legal entities: “Tvari statyba” and “Lajota”. According to the report, these companies transferred a total of €24,200 to the party’s parliamentary election campaign and €4,500 to Žemaitaitis’ presidential campaign via Puchovičius.

Puchovičius, who was the manager and sole shareholder of both companies in 2024, acknowledged receiving income from them but insisted the funds were used for personal purposes. He explained that he would transfer money to his wife, who did not work, to support his father, or to reimburse friends for shared expenses, such as restaurant bills or loans.

“The companies pay me money as dividends because I am a shareholder. They paid me a salary as a manager and paid people for work or services rendered based on invoices,” he said.

Lithuanian law prohibits legal entities from financing political parties or individual politicians. Puchovičius called the working group’s conclusion about indirect party financing “unfounded.” He confirmed that he had asked relatives and friends to support the party but denied giving them money for this purpose.

“I asked them to support [the party] voluntarily, as much as they could afford. If my wife, after receiving money from me—she would get three, four, or five thousand euros a month—decided to support the party, that was her decision,” he said.

Puchovičius also stated that his companies did not transfer money to any individual without proper justification, except for a payment to temporary Environment Minister Kastytis Žuromskis for consulting services when he was not serving as a minister.

The VRK report also proposes recognising violations of the Political Organisations Law by Puchovičius’ brother’s business partner, Paulius Kazilionis, his father Edvardas Puchovičius, and his wife Eva Puchovič, who allegedly paid party membership fees using funds received from Puchovičius, totalling €4,300.

The investigation further suggests that “Nemuno aušra” severely violated the Election Code and the Political Organisations Law by financing its parliamentary election campaign through corporate donations and third-party contributions.