Spokeswoman of the STT Dovilė Andrijauskaitė confirmed to the news agency ELTA that the politician was questioned by the anti-corruption agency to clarify certain circumstances.
Kasčiūnas told ELTA afterwards that the meeting with law enforcement was short and pleasant, and was organised to verify information. He told investigators that he had not noticed any suspicious lobbying activities by members of the Seimas Committee on National Security and Defence.
Moreover, the MP said he agreed with the opinion of the prosecutor general that individuals convicted of corruption should not be allowed to participate in public procurement tenders organised by the Ministry of National Defence and legislation would have to be amended.
The MP also informed the STT about cases when “top 30 defence companies” wanted to invest in Lithuania and explore production opportunities in the country, but the Ministry of National Defence was so unapproachable that its staff did not even meet with representatives of these companies.
Furthermore, Minister of the Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė revealed on Facebook that she was too summoned to the anticorruption agency regarding the defence sector.
“It is regrettable that due to personal motives some politicians cast shadow sowing distrust in the entire national defence and defence procurement system,” the minister wrote in a post.
She added that all defence industry companies interested in investing in Lithuania were referred to the Ministry of National Defence but none of them set up shop in Lithuania.
Earlier, the STT questioned outgoing Minister Anušauskas, Liberal Movement’s MP Raimundas Lopata and former deputy defence minister Vilius Semeška.
As reported, when Minister of National Defence Anušauskas unexpectedly announced his resignation on 15 March, he claimed that he had encountered cases of “egregious interference in public procurement” and that when he “closed the door” for companies that tried to bribe employees of the National Defence Ministry, they found “an open door in the Seimas”.
Anušauskas stated that he was stepping down after rejecting a reshuffle proposed by Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, where he would be replaced by an MP and head a parliamentary committee instead.
On 19 March, Šimonytė nominated MP Kasčiūnas for the defence minister’s position after Anušauskas announced he was stepping down.
