After resignation of Property Register chief, opposition leader calls for economy minister’s accountability

The resignation of Adrijus Jusas as director of Lithuania’s Centre of Registers is a necessary step, but Economy and Innovation Minister Edvinas Grikšas must also take political responsibility for the mass data breach, opposition leader Laurynas Kasčiūnas said on Monday.

“The resignation of the Centre of Registers director in the context of a mass data theft is the right move. But questions remain about the political accountability of Economy and Innovation Minister Edvinas Grikšas,” Kasčiūnas wrote on Facebook, as reported by LRT and ELTA.

He criticised the government’s narrow interpretation of accountability, which he said often reduces it to criminal liability alone. “In democracies, ministers assume political responsibility for scandals in their areas of oversight. This used to be the case in Lithuania as well—a sign of governance accountability and political culture,” the Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) chairman stated.

Kasčiūnas also demanded explanations from Interior Minister Vladislavas Kondratovičius and Migration Department officials, accusing them of attempting to “bury the problem” and shield a Social Democrat-affiliated minister. “The scandal is being localised to the Centre of Registers because that’s politically convenient, but it’s clearly insufficient,” he said, vowing the opposition would not allow the issue to be swept aside.

Prosecutors launched a pre-trial investigation last Friday into the alleged leak of over 600,000 real estate register records from the Centre of Registers, with estimated damages exceeding €111,000. Jusas resigned following the breach.