Sabutis denies guilt in municipal expenses case

MP Eugenijus Sabutis has denied wrongdoing in a case over his claims for municipal expenses, LRT reported. He testified at a hearing before the Kaunas District Court in Jonava, his lawyer said.

Sabutis, a former deputy mayor of Jonava district municipality and a former council member, is accused of improperly receiving reimbursements. His lawyer, Haroldas Juška, said some receipts in the case belonged to Sabutis’s wife and parents-in-law.

The defence has also addressed the cost of a television. Juška said Sabutis bought it during the pandemic to take part in council meetings remotely, explaining that it was difficult for him to see the participants on a phone screen because of his poor eyesight.

Juška argued that the charges were unfounded and questioned whether the rules governing council members’ expenses had been clear. He said council members previously submitted reports and receipts, while under the current system they receive a salary and are not required to submit receipts to the municipality.

Municipal controller questioned

The court heard from people whose receipts appeared in Sabutis’s reports, as well as Jonava district municipality’s controller. Prosecutor Darius Valkavičius told ELTA that the controller’s testimony supported the prosecution’s case. She said council members signed the documents they submitted, but municipal staff had no means of checking whose payment cards had been used. A prosecutor can obtain permission to check the cardholder’s identity only from a pre-trial judge, Valkavičius said.

According to the prosecutor, council members received expense payments in advance and later submitted purchase receipts to justify them. The Jonava district municipal administration is a civil claimant in the case.

The Special Investigation Service has said Sabutis used receipts paid for with bank cards or cash belonging to a public institution, companies and other people to justify expenses. The purchases included fuel and television services and equipment bought in instalments. Law enforcement says Sabutis, who now serves in parliament, was unjustifiably paid 3,100 euros.

At the hearing, Valkavičius identified the public institution as the Lithuanian Agricultural Advisory Service and the companies as Egsta and Comintela. Sabutis’s wife, Rasa Sabutienė, worked as an occupational safety specialist at the advisory service during the period covered by the case and has testified as a witness. The prosecutor also said Telia Lietuva television services and television equipment were paid for.