Ethics commission to review Malinauskas’s municipal appointment

Lithuania’s Chief Official Ethics Commission will decide on Wednesday what further steps to take over the hiring of former Druskininkai mayor Ričardas Malinauskas by the municipality’s administration, LRT reported.

“We have gathered additional information and will decide tomorrow what happens next,” commission chair Jolanta Bernotaitė told BNS.

In October, the Special Investigation Service declined to open a pre-trial investigation into Malinauskas’s appointment, saying it had found no signs of a corruption-related crime. However, the service said the municipal administration’s decisions raised questions about compliance with laws governing public administration and local self-government.

Malinauskas has worked as chief adviser to the Druskininkai municipal administration since September 18. Administration director Vilma Jurgelevičienė appointed him to the position.

His powers as mayor were terminated after the Court of Appeal of Lithuania upheld his conviction in a corruption case in September. The court found him guilty of bribery, offering bribes, trading in influence and illicit enrichment, and upheld a fine of 60,000 euros.

The commission will also consider whether to investigate a possible conflict of interest involving former State Tax Inspectorate head Edita Janušienė. In March, she approved the registration of a charity fund she founded and leads at premises managed by the inspectorate in Druskininkai.

The commission opened an investigation into the decision in August. The fund was established on March 25 and registered at an address on Neravų Street, where a branch of the tax inspectorate operates. Janušienė is the fund’s founder, head and member. The current inspectorate head, Martynas Endrijaitis, is also a member.

The commission will also decide whether to investigate a possible conflict involving Finance Minister Taurimas Valys and his previous work at the Family Credit Union. It began gathering additional information in October after conservative lawmaker Mindaugas Linge asked it to assess whether Valys had properly declared his private interests and should have withdrawn from decisions concerning credit unions.

Valys’s brother, Žygimantas Valys, chairs the credit union’s board and heads its administration. The union is also a financial intermediary for the national development bank ILTE and receives support measures from it. The minister denies a conflict of interest, saying he left the credit union when he took office and did not make decisions in its favour.