STT finds no grounds for corruption risk analysis of Palucke hiring
Tuesday 13th October 2026 on 14:15 in
Lithuania
Lithuania’s Special Investigation Service (STT) says it currently has no grounds to launch a corruption risk analysis into the hiring of Ilma Palucke at Vilnius District Polyclinic, LRT reported. The agency said it had no information indicating systemic corruption risks in the clinic’s personnel management.
The STT said a corruption risk analysis is intended to identify systemic risks, not assess whether an individual hiring decision was lawful. It also said there was currently no basis for a procedural decision on whether to open a pre-trial investigation. Information received will be assessed as part of the agency’s monitoring of corruption risks, and it will consider further action if significant new information emerges.
The Conservative Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats’ parliamentary group approached the STT in September, asking it to analyse personnel management at the clinic and assess the circumstances of Palucke’s hiring. The group questioned whether the decision was transparent and impartial and complied with equal-opportunity principles. It also asked the agency to consider whether the information warranted other measures within its remit.
The group also asked the Chief Official Ethics Commission to investigate. Last week, the commission decided to gather more information about the hiring before deciding whether to open an investigation.
In September, news outlet Delfi reported that Palucke had joined the clinic over the summer as an internal communications coordinator. The clinic is headed by Evaldas Navickas, who previously served as health adviser to Palucke’s husband, former Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas.
Clinic representative Gabrielle Jankauskaite said Palucke was selected after candidates’ skills, professional experience and suitability for the role were assessed. Gintautas Paluckas’s declaration of public and private interests lists his wife as having started work at the clinic on August 17. He told Delfi she was hired based on her qualifications.