On June 19, 2023, Linas Pernavas, the Director of the Special Investigation Service (STT), took an oath to the President of the Republic and officially started his duties. The new head of STT was appointed for a five-year term of office together with his team of Deputy Directors. Jovitas Raškevičius, who is responsible for coordinating corruption-related crimes investigations, has been appointed as the First Deputy Director of the STT for a second term. Deputy Director Egidijus Radzevičius has been also appointed for a new term to oversee anti-corruption education and administration. The newly appointed Deputy Director Elanas Jablonskas will be responsible for the areas of corruption prevention and analytical anti-corruption intelligence.
"The Special Investigation Service is an institution with a special role in creating an anti-corruption environment in Lithuania, and the best practices of the STT are acknowledged internationally. I appreciate the work that was done prior my appointment and I will seek to ensure the stability and continuity of the work of the STT, while also setting new goals for myself and my colleagues. It is important that the entire STT works as a team and that everyone's contribution contributes to the common goal - that every case, every pre-trial investigation is not only successfully is dealt at the court, but also exposes the problems that are rooted in the State and they can be solved by measures of corruption prevention, anti-corruption education and analytical anti-corruption intelligence. Therefore, it is very important to work together and target not only the consequences, but also the causes of corruption", said Linas Pernavas, the new Director of the STT.
Mr Pernavas also identified the first objectives that shall be given further attention. As regards corruption prevention, there is a need to improve the delivery of public services, to digitise and automate various services, and to do away with unnecessary procedures. Having identified the weakest links, the role of the STT is to make tangible proposals on improving administrative and public services in order to minimise the risks of corruption. Cooperation between the STT, the Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Courts is essential for effective decision-making. It is also important to strengthen the quality of criminal intelligence and pre-trial investigations, to ensure the proper implementation of the National Corruption Prevention Agenda, and to continue the effective activities of the “Integrity Academy” initiative with a particular focus of involving private sector.
Mr Pernavas graduated from the Lithuanian Police Academy and Vilnius University, where he obtained a Master of Law degree. He started his career in 1995 at the Ignalina District Police Headquarters. Later, he headed the Zarasai, Utena and Kaunas District Police Headquarters. Between 2014 and 2019 he was the Head of Lithuanian Police. After end of his term as the Head of Lithuanian Police in 2019, he was appointed as Police Attaché to the United Kingdom.
Mr Raškevičius, who has a Law degree, has many years of management experience, having served as Head of the Organised Crime Investigation Unit of the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau since 2008. He joined the STT in 2014 as Head of the unit responsible for the organisation and coordination of criminal intelligence investigations. In 2017, he was appointed Head of the Unit responsible for analytical anti-corruption intelligence. Between 2018 and 2023 he was the First Deputy Director of the STT.
Mr Radzevičius holds a PhD in Law and has taught at Mykolas Romeris and Vilnius Gediminas Technical Universities. He started his career at the Vilnius City Police Headquarters and worked there from 1996 to 2002. In 2008, he joined the STT as a Chief Specialist of the Legal Division, later became the Head of the Legal Division, and in 2014 - Deputy Head of the Administration Department. In September 2016, he was appointed Deputy Director of the STT.
Mr Jablonskas, the newly appointed Deputy Director of the STT, graduated from Mykolas Romeris University with a Master's degree in Law in 2006 and a Master's degree in Management from ISM University of Management and Economics in 2019. He started his service in the police force in 1999 at the Plungė District Police Headquarters, then served as the Head of the Immunity Board of Lithuanian Police for eight years, and was appointed Vice-Minister of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania in 2020.
Director of the STT is appointed by the President of the Republic of Lithuania with consent of the Seimas. Deputy Directors of the STT are appointed by the President of the Republic of Lithuania upon motion of the Director of the STT.
