Lithuania’s supreme court upholds acquittal of former Biržai mayor in bribery case

Lithuania’s Supreme Court has upheld the acquittal of former Biržai district mayor Vytas Jareckas on bribery and abuse-of-office charges, ruling the prosecution’s appeal unfounded, LRT reports.

The court’s final and non-appealable decision also clears Vidmantas Eidukas, the former Biržai municipal administration director, of abuse-of-office allegations linked to a 2018 hiring process for senior local government roles. Former council member Ritas Vaiginas remains acquitted of vote-buying, while ex-MP Viktoras Rinkevičius and job applicant Edis Trapikas are cleared of complicity in the alleged misconduct.

Judges dismissed the prosecutor’s cassation complaint, stating that Eidukas’ actions—though technically violating procedural rules—lacked the “substantial non-pecuniary harm” required to constitute abuse of office. The court noted his one-time favouritism toward Trapikas, who was ranked third in the competition but later performed well as deputy senior official. No evidence suggested Eidukas influenced other commission members.

On the bribery charge, the Supreme Court emphasised that Lithuanian criminal law does not define non-material, economically valueless “favours” as bribes. Prosecutors failed to prove Vaiginas or others gained concrete personal benefit from alleged quid pro quo arrangements, such as coordinated council votes. The ruling stressed that political coalition-building inherently involves compromise and does not automatically imply criminal liability.

“The prosecution’s arguments are insufficient to classify a promise to vote in the coalition’s interest as a bribe,” the court stated, adding that broad claims of “benefit to the coalition” lacked evidentiary support.

Lower courts had previously acquitted all defendants in 2023, a decision now affirmed as final.