Court rejects Kurlianskis parole bid for second time this year

Raimondas Kurlianskis, a former vice president of the MG Baltic conglomerate, will remain in prison after the Kaunas Regional Court rejected his appeal for conditional release for the second time this year, LRT reported, citing ELTA.

A panel of three judges ruled on Thursday that Kurlianskis could not be released early. The decision is final and cannot be appealed.

Kurlianskis had appealed a ruling issued by the Kaunas District Court at the end of July. That court had rejected his challenge to the Conditional Release Commission decision not to grant him parole.

Kurlianskis is serving a five-year-and-six-month prison sentence in an open-type prison. He has already served half of his sentence.

In December last year, the Conditional Release Commission decided not to release him early, stating that he was serving a sentence for five corruption-related crimes. The commission described the offences as serious, intentional and systematic, and said his actions had harmed society and undermined trust in several important state institutions.

Former members of parliament Eligijus Masiulis and Vytautas Gapšys, who were convicted in the same political corruption case, have also been denied early release.

ELTA reported that Kurlianskis, Masiulis and Gapšys turned themselves in to police in November 2023 after being convicted in the MG Baltic political corruption case. They were then taken to prison in Kaunas.

The courts found that meetings between Kurlianskis and the former MPs, most often initiated by the former conglomerate vice president, were systematic rather than accidental. They were coordinated with political issues relevant to MG Baltic being considered in parliament and other state or municipal institutions.

Bribes to politicians and political parties in exchange for decisions favourable to the conglomerate were disguised as support for legal entities and discounts on political advertising.

In its final ruling, the Supreme Court of Lithuania said the crimes committed by the defendants affected the country’s economy and fair competition, and had a negative impact on the stability and governance of democratic institutions.