As part of the pre-trial investigation into suspected corruption offences involving senior officials and employees of the State Plant Service under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania (State Plant Service), as well as other individuals suspected of having acted as part of an organised group, Member of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Saulius Skvernelis was today formally notified of suspicions of bribery.
The large-scale investigation is being led, organised and coordinated by the Prosecutor General’s Office and conducted by the Special Investigation Service (STT).
The information gathered by STT officers provides reasonable grounds to suspect that, between January and November 2025, S. Skvernelis, in his capacity as a public servant and Member of the Seimas, agreed through an intermediary to accept, and on several occasions accepted, a cash bribe amounting to at least EUR 51,000. The bribes were allegedly given in order to secure favourable treatment for interested parties.
It is suspected that S. Skvernelis may have known that the unlawful financial benefit paid to him would come from illicit proceeds obtained by accomplices through bribery.
This large-scale investigation was launched at the end of 2025. According to the information currently available in the pre-trial investigation, representatives of companies transporting plants and plant products were allegedly systematically solicited for and required to pay high-value bribes in exchange for phytosanitary certificates issued by the State Plant Service for such consignments. The total amount of bribes is suspected to have amounted to at least EUR 1.112 million.
A total of 16 individuals have currently been formally notified of suspicions in this investigation.
In accordance with the presumption of innocence, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the procedure established by law and convicted by a final court judgment.
