Baltic, Corruption, Legal Counsel, Lithuania, Markets and Companies
International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics
Friday, 29.03.2024, 01:37
MG Baltic president questioned by Lithuania's Special Investigation Service
"We can confirm that he has
arrived for questioning," told the service's spokeswoman Renata Saulyte.
Mockus is being questioned in the case of political corruption
where peddling influence, bribery and unlawful enrichment suspicions have been
brought against the former leader of the opposition Liberal Movement Eligijus Masiulis, while MG Baltic vice-president Raimondas Kurlianskis is suspected of
bribery, peddling influence and unlawful possession of a state secret.
In an earlier interview, Mockus has described the political
corruption scandal as the biggest blow to the concern's reputation, adding it
did not have a direct impact on the business. He said there were no reasons to
suspend Kurlianskis, the head of the group's media operations, from his post,
stressing that the media channels of the group would not be used for defense in
the investigation.
In Mockus' words, he was not persuaded by the motives of the
corruption crime presented by prosecutors. He said the probe was linked with
the upcoming general elections.
Law enforcement officials suspect that Masiulis accepted a bribe
of 106,000 euros for himself and other individuals from Kurlianskis in exchange
for "certain decisions favorable and financially beneficial to the
group." Masiulis says that he borrowed 90,000 euros from Kurlianskis as a
loan for a real estate project in Nida. The loan was not notarized.
Kurlianskis is chairman of the management board at the Laisvas ir Nepriklausomas Kanalas Group,
the operator of several TV channels, and at Alfa Media,
the operator of the Alfa.lt news portal. Lithuanian law-enforcement have
banned Mockus and Kurlianskis from contacting each other.
Romanas Raulynaitis, a member
of the management board at MG Baltic, was also questioned as special witness in
the case. Under Lithuanian laws, special witnesses are persons when data
about their complicity in a crime is insufficient for bringing suspicions
against them.