Agriculture Ministry audits plant service as ministerial chancellor takes part

Lithuania’s Ministry of Agriculture has begun an internal audit of the State Plant Service, with the ministry’s chancellor, Democrat Dorita Visalgienė, also participating, LRT reported, citing the Lrytas news portal.

Agriculture Minister Kęstutis Mažeika confirmed Visalgienė’s involvement and said the audit is being overseen by Deputy Minister Ligita Valalytė.

“Yes, according to their responsibilities, these are the people involved, including process management, and the deputy minister also has institutional experience,” Mažeika said.

The minister said he saw no problem with party members carrying out the audit and an anti-corruption assessment at the service.

“We are talking about process management, not the implementation or concealment of some schemes,” Mažeika said, adding that investigators had taken all the material needed for their investigation and that the ministry had received no instruction from the Special Investigation Service to halt its work.

He said it was important to allow the service and its employees to continue working as soon as possible and to ensure that its processes met the needs of farmers and other service users.

Service linked to corruption case

The State Plant Service is involved in a large-scale corruption case. The Prosecutor General’s Office has said that former prime minister and parliamentary speaker Saulius Skvernelis, who leads the Democrats’ Union “For Lithuania”, is suspected of accepting a 51,000-euro bribe in the case.

Thirteen people were detained last December during an investigation into suspected corruption at the service. The number of suspects later rose to 15.

According to law enforcement authorities, representatives of companies transporting plants and plant products were systematically demanded and paid large bribes in exchange for phytosanitary certificates issued by the service for cargo carriers.

Among those initially identified as suspects were suspended service director Jurijus Kornijenko, his deputy Mantas Butas, adviser Agnė Silickienė, Alytus regional office head Giedrius Urbelionis and acting head of the Kaunas regional office Dalia Šubonienė.

More than 100 searches resulted in the seizure of more than 1.3 million euros in cash and eight kilograms of gold worth about 1 million euros. Officers also found 11,000 packs of cigarettes, 14,000 litres of alcohol, cocaine and explosives.

The case also involves longtime Conservative Kazys Starkevičius, who served as agriculture minister in Ingrida Šimonytė’s government for several months. Searches were conducted at his and Skvernelis’ homes and parliamentary offices in February, after which both were named suspects.

Starkevičius admitted accepting a bribe, resigned his parliamentary mandate and suspended his membership in the Homeland Union Lithuanian Christian Democrats. He later told the 15min news portal that the bribe amounted to up to 20,000 euros.

Visalgienė is a relative of the Bieliauskas family, described by Lrytas as close associates of Skvernelis, who is on trial in a corruption case.