Prosecutors seek nearly 4,870 euros from MP Vėsaitė over fuel claims

LRT reports that a prosecutor from the Kaunas Regional Prosecutor’s Office has filed a civil claim with the Alytus District Court seeking nearly 4,870 euros for the benefit of the Lazdijai District Municipality from current Seimas member and Social Democrat Birutė Vėsaitė.

Vėsaitė was previously a member of the Lazdijai District Municipal Council. An analysis of documents she submitted to the municipality for reimbursement found that she had received 5,221 euros for fuel expenses.

According to the prosecutor’s office, Vėsaitė purchased 3,179 litres of fuel using the reimbursed funds. Of that amount, 2,627 litres, costing 4,335 euros, were bought outside the Lazdijai District Municipality in 58 transactions. These purchases accounted for 76 percent of all fuel transactions.

The investigation also found that Vėsaitė was reimbursed 74 euros for fuel purchases during the quarantine period.

Prosecutors responsible for protecting the public interest assess whether reimbursements paid to municipal council members were lawful. When violations are found, they file civil claims seeking the return of specific amounts to municipal budgets.

As of July 31, prosecutors from the General Prosecutor’s Office and the regional prosecutor’s offices in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Panevėžys and Šiauliai had filed 217 civil claims seeking a total of more than 2.322 million euros. Council members had voluntarily returned more than 2.138 million euros to municipal budgets.

The prosecutor’s office said all claims decided by the courts had been upheld, with former council members ordered to pay amounts close to those sought or cases concluded through settlements.