Lithuanian social security minister testifies in mayor’s fuel voucher fraud case

A Lithuanian court has heard testimony from Social Security and Labour Minister Jūratė Zailskienė in the criminal case against Prienai District Mayor Alvydas Vaicekauskas over alleged misuse of fuel vouchers, state broadcaster LRT reports.

Zailskienė, appearing as a witness in Alytus District Court on Tuesday, confirmed she had filled fuel for Vaicekauskas using her bank card, with the mayor later reimbursing her in cash. The vouchers were submitted to the municipality for compensation, part of an ongoing investigation into whether Vaicekauskas and other politicians improperly collected reimbursements for fuel expenses.

“When I filled up fuel, he [Vaicekauskas] would give me cash in return,” Zailskienė told the court. She admitted that when purchasing fuel, she had asked the station attendant to enter the mayor’s name, surname, and personal identification number on the receipt.

The minister, a long-time associate of Vaicekauskas, said their close working relationship—including her past roles as his election campaign chief and deputy in the municipality—explained her knowledge of his personal details. “We started working together in Prienai District Municipality in 2015 as Social Democrats. In 2022, we worked together again—I was the administration director, his first deputy. We worked a lot, traveled to meetings, even on weekends,” she stated.

Zailskienė, who served as the municipality’s administration director from 2019 to 2023 before becoming an advisor to the mayor, described frequent joint trips for party and voter meetings. Prosecutors questioned the purpose and funding of these trips, noting that fuel was used for both party events and constituent meetings regarding local issues like road disputes.

When pressed on why Vaicekauskas did not purchase fuel himself, Zailskienė claimed she could not recall details from roughly six years ago but insisted she spent more on fuel than she was reimbursed. Court records showed one receipt for 44 litres of fuel costing just over €46. The judge noted that Zailskienė’s car, a Toyota Yaris, had a fuel tank capacity of around 40 litres.

The minister’s husband, Rimvydas Zailskas—head of the municipality’s Education and Sports Department—also testified, though his statements were not detailed in the report.

The case centres on allegations that Vaicekauskas and others submitted fuel receipts from third parties, including party members, to claim unauthorised compensation from municipal funds. The Special Investigations Service and prosecutors suspect systematic abuse of the reimbursement system.