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Lithuania has adopted democracy and joined the European Union with Latvia and Estonia. Its institutions embraced Western values. Yet, Soviet-style corruption has proven to take years to purge. Consequently, Lithuania’s judiciary and law enforcement are an ongoing topic of concern in the halls of the US State Department.
The recent scandals show that the corruption of Lithuania’s judiciary is an escalating problem.
A member of the Lithuanian Supreme Court was among the twelve senior judges charged with crimes in 2019 due to a widespread bribery scandal. Remarkably, by the end of 2021, all accusations against the 12 were dropped.
The inheritance dispute that has been taking place in Lithuanian courts and even on the streets has been highlighted in recent US press and Lithuanian stories. Before he passed away, one of Lithuania’s richest business tycoons, Raimondas Karpavicius, allegedly used manipulation and corruption to leave his estate to dishonest government officials and their shills, who included known criminals and unfair law enforcement personnel.
The scandal involves the following facts and allegations. Upon Karpavicius passing, his company ownership was improperly transferred to his brother, Henrikas Karpavicius, and Raimondas’ companion, Aiste Grybauskiene.
Henrikas surfaced in November 2018, during the last months of Raimondas’ life. He and Raimonda’s female friend became the beneficiaries of an estate of €110 million. His once-estranged brother used private security guards to confine the ailing businessman and banned his wife and son from visiting Raimondas once the tycoon became ill.
According to close sources, Raimondas’s wife and their son had recorded a plot to isolate the tycoon and hasten his demise. They believe this was done through widespread and blatant corruption in Lithuania’s judiciary and law enforcement.
The tycoon’s relatives engaged experts who claim that dishonest judiciary and law enforcement members colluded with Grybauskiene to take the businessman’s riches. To accomplish this, Grybauskiene recruited Arunas Pukelis, a mobster in Lithuania who had transformed into a businessman. Together, the two plotted to steal Raimonda’s rightful heirs by using the media, the corrupt judiciary, and law enforcement. A group of dishonest judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and other facilitators were brought in to carry out the evil conspiracy.
The Lithuanian Supreme Court is now hearing a civil dispute involving the estate of Raimonds Karpavicius. It is claimed that senior law enforcement and judiciary authorities have affected every previous decision made by Lithuania’s lower courts.
It is claimed that despite evidence showing Raimondas Karpavicius lacked legal expertise, the lower courts used bribes to rule that he had stated his wishes in his Last Will and Testament.
The results of an independent investigation that Raimondas’ family commissioned were entirely inconsistent with the preliminary conclusions. According to this impartial study, when Raimondas wrote his Will, he could not comprehend the consequences of his actions.
In particular, this incident has sparked an investigation by law enforcement and questions by US Congress.
Confidential sources within the US law enforcement community claim that private investigations into judicial and police misconduct resulting from the complicated and scandalous inheritance issue known as e3K-3-2-701/2024 have prompted US law enforcement inquiries into the matter. According to sources, investigations involve certain citizens of the United States and law enforcement officers from Lithuania.
Because Lithuania receives financial support from the United States and Europe, Americans should be concerned about the rule of law and the integrity of its government institutions. It is now answerable to other member nations and its residents because it is a part of the European Union.
Lithuania and the other former Baltic satellite governments receive significant financial assistance from the United governments. Lithuania has emerged from the Soviet Union as a reliable strategic ally of the US.
Defense cooperation serves as the linchpin of the U.S.-Lithuania bilateral relationship. From 2017 to 2022, the U.S. State Department provided $279.75 million in Foreign Military Financing to Lithuania, with an additional $8.9 million in funds designated for International Military Education & Training. To wit, the American taxpayer is invested in Lithuania.
After overcoming the limitations of its previous Soviet political systems, Lithuania has made significant progress. It can now incorporate Western principles of accountability and transparency into its political system. The fact that elected and federal law enforcement officials in the United States are looking into corrupt Lithuanian officials and inquiring into growing accusations of corruption in the country’s courts and law enforcement is positive.
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