Supreme Court refuses former Alytus council member’s appeal
Tuesday 20th October 2026 on 15:15 in
Lithuania
Lithuania’s Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to accept a cassation appeal from Danielius Jakubavičius, a former member of the Alytus District Municipal Council convicted in a case involving council expense claims, LRT reported.
The court found no grounds to hear the appeal, Supreme Court spokeswoman Tautvilė Merkevičiūtė told news agency ELTA. Jakubavičius had asked the court to overturn the rulings of the lower courts and either close the case or send it back for a new appeal hearing. He also asked the Supreme Court to refer provisions of the Law on Local Self-Government to the Constitutional Court for a review of their constitutionality.
In September, the Lithuanian Court of Appeal upheld Jakubavičius’s conviction, while removing a finding that he had acquired property by abusing the trust of employees in the Alytus District Municipality’s accounting department. The rest of the lower court’s ruling remained unchanged.
In December 2025, the Kaunas Regional Court found Jakubavičius guilty and fined him 10,000 euros. It also barred him for three years from being elected or appointed to positions in state or municipal institutions. After the appeal ruling took effect, he lost his seat on the municipal council.
The first-instance court convicted him of abuse of office, document forgery or handling a forged document, and fraud involving funds intended to cover council members’ work expenses. It ordered him to pay 8,400 euros in compensation to the Alytus District Municipality.
Court records showed that Jakubavičius systematically falsified documents between 2019 and 2023 to obtain 8,402 euros belonging to the municipal administration. The claims covered fuel and equipment bought at petrol stations, as well as instalments on mobile phones purchased for his personal use. Jakubavičius denied the charges.
The case followed the “Skaidrinam” investigation into municipal politicians’ use of public funds, initiated by public figure Andrius Tapinas. The ensuing scandal over possible misuse of office expenses brought many municipalities under the scrutiny of law enforcement.