Endrijaitis denies party membership and close ties to Matjošaitytė

LRT reported, citing the news portal Delfi, that State Tax Inspectorate chief Martynas Endrijaitis denies being a member of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) or having close ties to Laura Matjošaitytė, a member of the Central Electoral Commission (VRK).

The tax inspectorate said Endrijaitis knows Matjošaitytė as a public figure and has met her only occasionally in the course of his official duties, including at an official reception for Statehood Day. It said his declaration of private interests contains no error and the claims circulating online are false.

The inspectorate also said Endrijaitis has never belonged to a political party. It described the circulation of false claims about civil servants and alleged party membership as an informational attack that could cast doubt on the institution’s work and decisions.

Communications specialist Karolis Žukauskas had earlier posted on Facebook about Endrijaitis’s alleged party membership and personal ties to Matjošaitytė.

Delfi previously reported that in September 2024, more than a month before parliamentary elections, Matjošaitytė sent Robertas Puchovičius, a deputy leader of the Nemuno Aušra party, a draft response to the VRK. She asked him to transfer it into a Word document he had created so that her metadata would not remain in the file.

The VRK said metadata showed that Matjošaitytė had prepared Nemuno Aušra’s response to the commission about party membership fees. The VRK, the Lithuanian Bar Association and the Chief Official Ethics Commission have opened inquiries into her activities.