Lithuanian anti-corruption service searches homes of mayor’s mother

The Lithuanian Special Investigation Service (STT) on Tuesday carried out searches at the apartment and house of the mother of Širvintų district mayor Živilė Pinskuvienė, according to a report by the 15min news portal, confirmed by Pinskuvienė and her mother’s lawyer Jovitas Elzbergas.

The searches are part of an investigation into the purchase of a Palanga apartment by Pinskuvienė’s mother, Marija Gudonienė, and the circumstances of public procurement in Širvintų district. The STT also seized documents related to public procurement from the municipality, though no actions were taken in Pinskuvienė’s office.

The search at Gudonienė’s home began at 6 a.m. and lasted about five to six hours, with documents and phones confiscated. Pinskuvienė stated that her daughter, who traveled voluntarily from Vilnius to Palanga, had her work phone taken. The lawyer emphasized that the daughter has no procedural status in the pre-trial investigation and plans to challenge the actions.

Pinskuvienė described the treatment of her daughter as humiliating, noting that her bank card was on the phone, leaving her without access to funds. She said her daughter was escorted to a gas station to refuel, with STT officers paying for the fuel and holding her phone in a bag.

The investigation began in June after journalists from Delfi reported that Gudonienė bought the Palanga apartment for an unusually low price of 80,000 euros from businessman Vilmantas Guobis, a acquaintance of Pinskuvienė. Guobis’s company subsequently won 15 consecutive public tenders in Širvintų district.

The probe aims to determine whether favorable conditions were created for a specific bidder in public procurement, potentially compensated by the transfer of real estate at below-market prices. No charges have been brought so far. Pinskuvienė denies any link between her mother’s apartment purchase and the public tenders won by Guobis’s company.