On 29 March, the term of office of Žydrūnas Bartkus, who headed the Special Investigation Service (STT) for the last 5 years, ended. As of today, 30 March, Jovitas Raškevičius, the First Deputy Director of the STT, will take over as acting Director of the STT.
Ž. Bartkus joined the STT on 1 June 1999 at the Šiauliai Department. He was appointed as a Chief of the Šiauliai Department in 2006, Chief of the Vilnius Department in 2011, First Deputy Director of the STT in 2013, and in 2018 he was appointed as the Director of the STT.
"I can be proud that during 24 years of service, 5 of which I was the Head of the STT, my team and I have accomplished a lot. The united operation of all four directions of the STT - investigations of corruption crimes, analytical anti-corruption intelligence, prevention of corruption and anti-corruption awareness raising - has allowed not only to detect and prevent potential corruption crimes, but also to strengthen the public's perception of the importance of creating an anti-corruption environment both in Lithuania and worldwide. We have done all this together with a competent team, and I thank them for their great dedication and work for my country," said the outgoing Director of the STT Žydrūnas Bartkus.
During the 5 years of his leadership, significant changes have been achieved: the investigation of systemic corruption crimes has become a priority objective, a new function of the STT has been developed - the analytical anti-corruption intelligence, a new Law on Prevention of Corruption has been adopted, the international cooperation has been strengthened - started to lead the European Anti-Corruption Network (EPAC/EACN) and achieved that one of the world's most important integrity forum will be hosted in Lithuania in 2024. Anti-corruption awareness has also been strengthened, with the establishment and success of the Integrity Academy, the organisation of integrity hackathons, and the introduction of a new e-learning platform for anti-corruption education.
Žydrūnas Bartkus took office as Head of the STT on 30 March 2018. The Director of the STT is appointed by the President of the Republic of Lithuania with the approval of the Seimas, and the Deputy Directors of the STT are appointed by the President of the Republic of Lithuania on the recommendation of the Director of the STT.
