Prosecutors send Akmenė mayor’s expense case to court

Prosecutors have sent a case against Akmenė district mayor and former council member Vitalijus Mitrofanovas to Telšiai District Court over allegedly falsified fuel-expense claims, LRT reported. He is charged with embezzlement, abuse of office and forging or using forged documents.

According to the investigation, Mitrofanovas submitted expense reports for 2019–2023 that allegedly claimed fuel costs incurred in his role as a council member but were used to cover personal expenses. Investigators say he obtained more than €1,300 belonging to the Akmenė district municipal administration by submitting the reports to the municipality’s accounting department.

In related cases, a court found former Radviliškis district council member Vida Janulaitienė guilty of abuse of office, fraud and document forgery. It fined her €3,350 and barred her from elected or appointed positions in state or municipal institutions for three years. Janulaitienė admitted the offences, expressed remorse and repaid the municipality €2,300 in damages.

The court also approved the termination of investigations into former Radviliškis council member Gabrielius Verdingas and former Telšiai council members Petras Kuizinas and Stanislovas Čekanauskas, releasing them from criminal liability under suretyship. They had admitted wrongdoing, expressed remorse and repaid damages of €2,300, €3,500 and €4,100, respectively.

All three were barred from elected positions in state and municipal institutions, their bodies and companies, and non-governmental organisations for three years. They must also make payments to the Crime Victims Fund: Verdingas €2,000, Kuizinas €500 and Čekanauskas €1,000. Each was placed under a one-year suretyship period.