Prienai district mayor appeals conviction in fuel expenses case

Prienai district Mayor Alvydas Vaicekauskas has appealed his conviction for falsifying expense documents and misusing municipal funds, LRT reported. His appeal asks the court to overturn the judgment and acquit him.

On September 28, the Alytus District Court fined Vaicekauskas 7,500 euros and barred him for three years, from the date the judgment becomes final, from being elected or appointed to positions in state or municipal institutions. The first-instance ruling is not final because it has been appealed.

The court found that Vaicekauskas submitted expense records for fuel that had not been used for his work as a municipal council member, seeking reimbursement from the Prienai district municipal administration. The amount covered by the charge was about 1,113 euros, and the damage has since been repaid.

The investigation found that, during the 2019–2023 council term, Vaicekauskas allegedly falsified 17 expense reports by claiming fuel costs connected to his council work. Some fuel receipts were paid for with bank cards belonging to other people, including his wife, municipal employee Roma Sinkevičiūtė, former Social Security and Labour Minister Jūratė Zailskienė, her husband Arvydas Zailskas, and an unidentified person.

The court records say Sinkevičiūtė’s card was used to pay 247 euros for the mayor’s fuel, Zailskienė’s card 176 euros, his wife’s card 180 euros, and an unidentified person’s card 52 euros.

Vaicekauskas denied guilt in court, saying that all fuel bought with other people’s cards was used for his council duties. The court said the evidence it examined contradicted that claim, and found that he had systematically submitted receipts paid for with other people’s cards to obtain reimbursement for fuel not used in his council work.

Vaicekauskas submitted his appeal on Monday, Alytus District Court administration secretary Jurgita Urbanavičiūtė told ELTA. He has led Prienai for a fourth term and turned 69 in June.