The Lithuanian Seimas has stripped Skvernelis of his parliamentary immunity
The Lithuanian Seimas has approved a decision to strip former Prime Minister and former Speaker of Parliament Saulius Skvernelis of his parliamentary immunity. Now the prosecutor’s office will be able to formally charge him in a bribery case. The decision was passed by an overwhelming majority, and the politician himself agreed to a simplified procedure for lifting his immunity. This was reported by LRT.
The Lithuanian Parliament, the Seimas, voted to strip former Prime Minister and former Speaker of Parliament Saulius Skvernelis of his parliamentary immunity. The decision was adopted on Thursday during a vote that resulted in 102 votes in favor, significantly exceeding the required minimum.
At least 71 votes were required to pass the resolution in the 141-member parliament. Only one member voted against it, while two others abstained, which effectively demonstrated broad support for this move in the Seimas. According to the Lithuanian Constitution, a member of parliament cannot be held criminally liable or have their freedom restricted without the consent of parliament. That is why the Seimas’ decision is crucial for the further investigation.
In this case, Skvernelis himself requested that the matter be considered under a simplified procedure, effectively agreeing to the waiver of his immunity. This allowed the case to quickly move to the next stage. The Prosecutor’s Office plans to bring charges against him in a case involving corruption schemes at the State Plant Service. Prosecutor General Nida Grunskene informed Parliament that the case involves alleged bribes totaling over 1 million euros.
According to law enforcement officials, the investigation concerns a large-scale corruption case involving financial misconduct within a state institution. Now that his immunity has been lifted, the case is moving into a full-fledged criminal proceeding.
Additionally, the Special Investigation Service (STT) conducted searches at the Seimas and the homes of former Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis and conservative MP Kazys Starkevičius.
