Lithuanian parliamentary committee orders destruction of whistleblower commission’s materials

The materials collected by a controversial parliamentary commission investigating whistleblower allegations must be destroyed, Lithuania’s Seimas National Security and Defence Committee (NSGK) ruled on Friday, *LRT* reports.

The committee unanimously backed a proposal from the Seimas Legal Department to destroy the materials rather than request their declassification. Legal experts argued that, following the Constitutional Court’s annulment of the commission’s legitimacy, the materials should not be preserved in state archives.

The Seimas had initially voted in early May to retain the commission’s findings indefinitely, but the issue was referred back to the NSGK for reconsideration.

The now-dissolved commission, formed by the previous ruling majority, investigated claims by former State Security Department (VSD) officer Tomas Gailius regarding alleged illegal data collection and influence-peddling linked to Belarusian fertiliser businesses. Opposition members—now in government—boycotted the probe and challenged its legality before the Constitutional Court, which ruled in October 2023 that the commission’s formation and conclusions violated constitutional principles of accountable governance.

In its final report, the commission claimed President Gitanas Nausėda had failed to cooperate, potentially breaching his oath of office. It also alleged that dozens of individuals in Nausėda’s circle had ties to Belarusian fertiliser interests, Russian and Belarusian intelligence, and foreign diplomats, posing national security risks. The report further accused then-VSD director Darius Jauniškis of concealing this information and assisting Nausėda’s 2019 campaign by gathering intelligence on his team.

Security agencies disputed the findings, accusing the commission of bias, overreach, and ignoring key evidence. The Seimas Ethics Committee later confirmed procedural violations during the investigation.

Nausėda has consistently denied requesting VSD scrutiny of his associates.