This was the punishment requested by the Prosecutor General’s Office. When issuing the judgement the Court took into consideration a prosecutor’s arguments that the amount of the fine would meet the principles of fairness and reasonableness.

The former aide stood trial for offering a EUR 50,000 bribe to Conservative MP Matas Maldeikis in 2021 if he voted in favour of suspending the consideration of amendments to the Law on Gaming Tax aimed at tightening regulations for the gambling business.

The defendant was not convicted before, admitted to having committed the criminal offence and sincerely regretted about it.

Meanwhile, upon learning about the judgement, MP Maldeikis stated he might appeal against the amount of the fine, which he deems to be too small.

“I will consult with lawyers and we will be looking at possibilities to appeal against the ruling. My main goal is not for the young man to be imprisoned (&), but I think prosecutors have created a precedent whereby young people may be sent to the Seimas to ‘catch’ members of the Seimas for a bribe.

Whereas if MPs turn them in, as I did, they are simply fined EUR 5,000. This is a joke,” MP Maldeikis commented to the news agency ELTA.

The politician argues that the judgement seems to be an attempt to gloss over the case of systemic corruption in parliament.

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