“At today’s meeting, the VTEK unanimously decided that the President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda and Ambassador Eitvydas Bajarūnas had violated the provisions of the Law on the Harmonisation of Public and Private Interests,” VTEK chair Gediminas Sakalauskas told reporters on Tuesday.
The investigation concluded that President Nausėda used his status and position for personal gain, i.e., to obtain tickets for a performance. The tickets for the president and his wife also constitute an unlawful gift, the acceptance of which is prohibited by the law.
“The Commission found a breach of two articles. The first was that he used his official position and status for personal gain and the second was that he accepted an unlawful gift prohibited by the law,” said Sakalauskas.
“As regards the ambassador, the commission said that there had been a breach of three articles. The first was that he did not perform his official duties properly, the second was that he also used his official position and status for personal gain and the third was that he used and allowed the use of state property for non-work activities,” the VTEK head sais.
The body had earlier said there were evidence that the embassy bought the tickets for the president, the ambassador and their spouses. The ambassador later admitted it was a misunderstanding and paid for the tickets from his own personal funds.
In October, Conservative MP Matas Maldeikis addressed the VTEK over the opera visit and a possible mingling of interests. He questioned whether the ambassador could have confused public and private interests and whether the president reported a gift if the tickets were purchased from the diplomat’s personal funds rather than those of the embassy.
According to sources of news website lrytas.lt, when Nausėda was in London, Bajarūnas instructed the embassy’s staff to buy the most expensive tickets to “The Phantom of the Opera”. The embassy was said to have paid for the tickets of the president, the first lady, the ambassador and his wife.
Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis in October suspended the functions of Ambassador Bajarūnas ‘until constructive and productive operation of the Embassy of Lithuania in Britain is restored’ after the ministry’s inquiry that found the ambassador did not comply with his duties.
A number of employees at the embassy in the UK had given testimonies accusing the ambassador of mobbing, humiliation, abuse of office and misuse of the embassy’s funds and resources.
