Proposal to abolish State Plant Service amid corruption scandal

Acting leader of the Liberal Movement Virginijus Sinkevičius has proposed abolishing the State Plant Service, which is embroiled in a corruption scandal, and transferring its functions to the State Food and Veterinary Service, 15min reports.

The move would be possible if a Liberal Movement representative leads the Ministry of Agriculture, which oversees the Plant Service.

“We plan to review the functions of the institutions under the ministry, and most likely, they will be transferred to the State Food and Veterinary Service, as they always have been. In that case, there should be no need for a separate service,” Sinkevičius told the portal.

He added that a corruption risk assessment would be conducted first, along with an analysis of duplicated functions. “This would save money and reduce obvious risks. If corruption has thrived there for 20 years, the question is whether such a service is needed at all,” he said.

Sinkevičius also noted that the activities of other institutions under the ministry would be scrutinised to determine their necessity.

As previously reported by BNS, officials launched a corruption investigation into the State Plant Service last year. This year, charges were brought against former Agriculture Minister Kazys Starkevičius and Saulius Skvernelis, then-leader of the Liberal Movement and a member of parliament.

Starkevičius resigned from parliament in the spring and, according to 15min, admitted to taking a bribe of up to €20,000. Skvernelis is also suspected of accepting a bribe for political favour towards the then-head of the State Plant Service but denies the charges and remains in parliament.

The service has been without a permanent head since December 2025, when Jurijus Kornijenko, who led it, was detained as part of the corruption investigation. A total of 16 people have been charged in this pre-trial investigation.