Lithuania’s Supreme Court to hear Vyšniauskas expense case

LRT reported that Lithuania’s Supreme Court, the country’s highest court, will hear former MP Andrius Vyšniauskas’ expense receipt case after he asked the court to overturn his convictions.

The court’s selection panel accepted Vyšniauskas’ cassation appeal, court spokeswoman Tautvilė Merkevičiūtė told BNS on Monday. The case will be heard in written proceedings.

The appeal asks the court to overturn the lower courts’ decisions and terminate the criminal case, or to annul the Court of Appeal’s ruling and return the case for a retrial. It also seeks reimbursement of legal costs.

The Supreme Court has not yet set a date for the hearing.

In June, the Court of Appeal upheld Vyšniauskas’ convictions for abuse of office, fraud and document forgery, but reduced his fine and the amount subject to confiscation.

The court reduced the fine from 7,500 euros to 6,500 euros and the amount corresponding to the damage caused to the municipality from 2,100 euros to 1,300 euros. It cited a reduction in the criminal liability for abuse of office under the Criminal Code and found that some of Vyšniauskas’ expenses for phones, a modem and parking could have been related to his work as a municipal council member.

The Court of Appeal left unchanged a three-year ban on holding elected or appointed positions in state or municipal institutions, their bodies and companies.

According to the case file, Vyšniauskas falsified 19 expense reports while serving as a municipal council member in 2019 and 2020. The reports contained inaccurate information about fuel expenses he had allegedly incurred as a council member and were submitted to the accounting department.

The court said that through these actions he abused his official position, fraudulently acquired more than 1,300 euros in municipal property for his own benefit, and caused the municipality financial and substantial non-pecuniary damage.