“VMI has received information about one of the world’s largest bank‘s Swiss branch customers that are related to Lithuania. We can not reveal the names. There are public persons among them,” said Vaimira Jakienė, the head of the Control Department at VMI.
“We are analysing the data and we seen that some people did not carry out their obligations [under Lithuanian law],” she said. Jakienė said that every resident of Lithuania who has an account in a foreign bank, must notify the tax authorities.
“There is talk about it, but individuals are not identified. I think that the VMI could provide more information to the public,” said Liberal Movement leader Parliamentarian Eligijus Masiulis.
However, Lithuania’s prime minister Algirdas Butkevičius said that it was just another attempt at a smear campaign and that the information on the accounts should be released publicly to end speculation.
“I believe that the only way to put a stop to this is to release information of the State Tax Inspectorate. I will ask the inspectorate to give an explanation about what is going on, so that the public know, so that the names on the list are made public.”
“I have no accounts either in a Swiss bank or in any other foreign country, I have nothing to hide. My wife and I are paying back a loan, as many people in Lithuania do, so we do not have huge savings or income that we could hold abroad,” Butkevičius said.
Masiulis had put the question to the Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius but he said he has no information about the list.
Some commentators have claimed that the STI, which is headed by the son of an influential Social Democrat Bronius Bradauskas, is deliberately concealing the names because the list contains those of politicians.
15min.lt
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