Parliament to investigate alleged nepotism across all municipalities

LRT reported that the Seimas Anti-Corruption Commission will investigate possible systemic nepotism throughout Lithuania’s public sector following revelations about the employment of people linked to the ruling Lithuanian Social Democratic Party at Raudondvaris Manor, a public institution in Kaunas district.

The commission initially considered examining only the case in Kaunas district, at the proposal of its chair, conservative Arvydas Anušauskas. However, MP Artūras Zuokas proposed expanding the investigation to all Lithuanian municipalities, winning broader support.

Members unanimously agreed to conduct a “systemic assessment and analysis of possible nepotism in the public sector”, while also examining the situation at Raudondvaris Manor and other entities based on the information received.

Several politicians missed the first meeting

According to BNS, the issue was already on the commission’s agenda in late August. However, five ruling Social Democratic MPs and three members of the mixed parliamentary group did not attend the meeting. As only five of the commission’s 12 members were present, the meeting could not take place.

Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius later said he believed members of his party would attend the discussions when the commission met in early September.

Employment links under scrutiny

LRT reported in mid-August that Raudondvaris Manor had become a workplace for people connected to the Social Democrats. The institution employed the wife of Kaunas district Mayor Valerius Makūnas until several months ago, as well as the mayor’s adviser and her spouse, an adviser to the education minister, the son of the manor’s longtime director and other people linked to the ruling party.

Aistė Sinkevičienė, the prime minister’s wife, also works remotely half-time as a public relations specialist at the manor and receives a second salary. In explanations submitted to BNS, she said she had worked there since late 2018. She said the institution’s then-director, Snieguolė Navickienė, hired her after being able to assess her professional abilities through projects they had previously carried out together.

LRT’s investigation also found that, after Sinkevičienė returned from maternity leave, Kaunas district municipality established a Public and International Relations Department. She became its head without a competition as a civil servant whose performance had exceeded expectations.

The Kaunas district municipal administration began an internal investigation last week into the actions of two employees connected with the disclosed information. Administration director Mantas Rikteris said one of those being investigated was the head of the Public and International Relations Department, a position held by Sinkevičienė.

Sinkevičienė rejected doubts about her municipal career, saying she won a chief specialist competition in 2023 after defeating other candidates and later became department head as a civil servant who had exceeded expectations.

In early September, acting manor director Kotryna Inga Morkūnaitė and her deputy Egidijus Morkūnas were suspended over concerns about public procurement carried out by the Raudondvaris Manor institution.