Lithuanian constitutional law expert criticises president’s handling of Paluckas case

Lithuanian legal expert Egidijus Kūris has questioned President Gitanas Nausėda’s acceptance of former Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas’ explanations regarding his wealth, stating that if Paluckas had been deceived, “he should have said so,” public broadcaster LRT reports.

The comments follow last week’s request by Prosecutor General Nida Grunskienė to lift Paluckas’ legal immunity so investigators can formally charge him in a corruption probe launched last year over suspected illicit enrichment. Prosecutors have also frozen assets linked to Paluckas, including two Vilnius apartments.

Investigative journalist Šarūnas Černiauskas, whose reporting first exposed the case, told LRT’s *Dienos tema* that Paluckas’ wife has been granted suspect status in the same probe. The investigation centres on over €340,000 in assets that authorities allege cannot be justified by Paluckas’ declared income.

Černiauskas highlighted two transactions under scrutiny: Paluckas’ 2022 purchase of a €223,000 apartment in Vilnius’ Verkių Park from a company linked to his associate Darijus Vilčinskas, despite lacking sufficient declared funds, and a separate deal with a Cypriot firm that allegedly sold him a property at a €90,000 loss.

Kūris, a Vilnius University professor, noted that while Lithuania’s criminal liability for illicit enrichment has existed since 2010, Paluckas’ case marks the first time a high-profile politician has faced such allegations. “This shows our legal system is not entirely toothless—and that it can reach politicians too,” he said.

The journalist also criticised Nausėda’s brief statement last Friday reaffirming “trust in law enforcement,” calling it insufficient. “The president summoned Paluckas specifically to question him about his wealth. After that meeting, the presidential office claimed everything was fine, everyone was convinced, everyone was happy. Paluckas said everything was legal,” Černiauskas said, urging further clarification from both the president and his advisor, Frederikas Jansonas.