STT declines probe into Matjošaitytė’s consultations for party

Lithuania’s Special Investigation Service (STT) has declined to open a pre-trial investigation into election commission member Laura Matjošaitytė’s earlier legal consultations for the Nemunas Dawn party, LRT reported.

The agency said Matjošaitytė was not a member of the Central Electoral Commission (VRK) when she provided the services. It also found no signs of criminal conduct involving corruption or an unlawful dangerous act causing major harm during her time on the commission.

STT reviewed a report forwarded by the Prosecutor General’s Office. It said the VRK, the Lithuanian Bar Association and the Chief Official Ethics Commission are already conducting inquiries into Matjošaitytė’s actions. The agency said those measures were sufficient to assess her conduct and that criminal liability was not warranted.

STT also renewed concerns about the VRK’s political independence. It said commission members delegated by political parties take part in decisions directly affecting those parties, raising doubts about impartiality and objectivity. Deputy director Elanas Jablonskas said the agency had highlighted the risks for years and called for measures to strengthen the commission’s independence.

The agency said its 2021 anti-corruption assessment identified risks involving commission members’ impartiality, party asset declarations and oversight of party financing. It added that some party-delegated or party-affiliated members had voted in ways that obstructed or avoided decisions on matters with potential negative consequences for their parties.

In August, news outlet Delfi reported that Matjošaitytė had advised Nemunas Dawn on membership fees and helped prepare the party’s response to the commission before returning to the VRK. She did not publicly declare the consultations. After initially declining to say whether she had been paid, she later said she had received no money.

Matjošaitytė chaired the VRK from 2017 to 2021 and returned as a member in May 2025. Her candidacy was put forward by then Justice Minister Rimantas Mockus, who had been delegated by Nemunas Dawn. In May 2025, the newly formed commission considered alleged campaign-financing violations by the party. Matjošaitytė supported findings of violations in some votes and abstained in others.