Lithuanian prosecutors conduct raids on ruling coalition MPs over car rental investigation

Authorities have launched searches at the offices of two Lithuanian MPs from the ruling coalition’s *Nemuno Aušra* party over suspicions of fraud linked to car rentals, LRT.lt and BNS report.

The Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) carried out raids on Tuesday at the parliamentary offices of Remigijus Žemaitaitis and Daiva Petkevičienė, as well as the party’s headquarters, the Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed. The investigation centres on allegations that the lawmakers rented their personal vehicles to *Nemuno Aušra* while continuing to use them themselves, potentially violating anti-fraud laws under Article 182 of the Criminal Code.

Orinta Leiputė, leader of the Social Democratic parliamentary group, called the raids “unjustified” and expressed surprise at the scale of the operation. “Such things aren’t done without reason. We’re waiting for more information from law enforcement,” she told LRT.lt.

Robertas Duchnevičius, deputy chair of the Social Democratic Party, warned the raids could strain coalition relations. “This doesn’t add value to the coalition,” he said, noting that party leadership would reassess partnerships “soon.” While declining to speculate on potential changes, he acknowledged the incident could “tip the balance,” adding: “We’ve said before that the new leadership will evaluate cooperation—and this will certainly factor in.”

The pre-trial investigation, overseen by Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office, began in early March following public complaints. No formal charges have been filed. Authorities estimate the searches may last several hours.