Visagino mayor agrees to repay 8,000 euros in expense case

Visagino Mayor Erlandas Galaguzas has agreed to repay the municipality 8,000 euros after prosecutors filed a claim over unjust enrichment, LRT reported, citing ELTA. He had already returned 202.94 euros to the municipal administration.

The settlement was approved by the Zarasai Chamber of the Utena District Court on August 13, and the case has been closed. Under the agreement, Galaguzas will repay the remaining 8,000 euros within 24 months.

The court said the settlement was reached through mutual concessions to resolve the dispute fully, end the proceedings and avoid additional legal costs.

Galaguzas said he was disappointed by the case, arguing that officials had acted in accordance with the regulations in force at the time. He said that during the pandemic he had been entitled to travel without a driver, but now had no opportunity to justify his actions.

He does not plan to resign as mayor and intends to seek a third term in next spring’s municipal elections. Galaguzas has served as Visagino mayor for two terms.

In January, a Panevezys Regional Prosecutor’s Office prosecutor representing the public interest asked the Zarasai Chamber of the Utena District Court to order Galaguzas to pay the municipality 10,256 euros for unjust enrichment.

An investigation found that Galaguzas had received 11,881 euros from Visaginas Municipality during his 2019 to 2023 council term to cover expenses incurred while performing council duties. He submitted receipts for 14,029 litres of petrol, diesel and gas purchased over four years.

The investigation found that one of the two cars he reported using was not registered in his or another entity’s name for part of the period, while the other had no valid compulsory civil liability insurance for another period. As a result, 2,986 euros in fuel expenses were improperly reimbursed for periods when the vehicles could not have been used.

Prosecutors also found no basis for reimbursing 3,000 euros in fuel purchases made outside Visaginas Municipality. Galaguzas also submitted fuel receipts for periods when gatherings were banned during quarantine and work was conducted remotely.