Businesswoman sentenced in Vijūnėlės manor corruption case seeks to avoid prison

Vilnius, Lithuania — A businesswoman convicted of corruption in a case involving the former Vijūnėlės manor in Druskininkai has asked an appeals court not to send her to prison.

Oksana Sakalauskienė, the only defendant in the case to receive a custodial sentence, was found guilty of 11 counts of corruption-related crimes, including bribery and trading influence, by the Kaunas Regional Court. The court ruled that while she had no prior criminal record, her role in the scheme was central and that financial gain was her primary motivation.

Sakalauskienė appealed the verdict to the Court of Appeal in Vilnius, requesting either that it be overturned or, if upheld, that her sentence be reduced and that she not be sent to prison. During her closing statement, she said her actions were driven by a desire to help others rather than financial gain.

Prosecutors allege that Sakalauskienė acted on behalf of Druskininkai’s former mayor, Ričardas Malinauskas, to influence court proceedings related to the Vijūnėlės manor. According to testimony from a protected witness, Drąsutis Zagreckas, Sakalauskienė approached him in 2019 seeking help to overturn a court ruling in the case. She allegedly offered €50,000 in bribes, of which €30,000 was later handed to a judge, Henrichas Jaglinskis, who recused himself from the case.

The Kaunas Regional Court found that Malinauskas and his advisor, Aivaras Kadziauskas, conspired to bribe Sakalauskienė and another individual, Arūnas Blažaitis, to influence the outcome of the case. Kadziauskas allegedly delivered €60,000 in cash to Blažaitis, who then passed it to Sakalauskienė. She and her husband, Ernestas Sakalauskas, allegedly delivered the €50,000 to Zagreckas.

The Court of Appeal has not yet issued a decision on Sakalauskienė’s appeal.