Lithuania’s Financial Crime authority finishes probe into Brazauskienė’s family US assets

Butrimas is also the manager of the Draugystė hotel in Vilnius.

Lithuania’s Financial Crime Investigation Service and the country’s Prosecutor General’ Office have announced the completion of a pre-trial investigation into the acquisition and subsequent sale of real estate in the United States in the name of the hotel. Butrimas is suspected of having failed to pay almost 40,000 euros in profit tax into the Lithuanian state budget.

In response to information published by the 15min news website, Lithuanian officials launched a probe into alleged illicit enrichment and found out that the Vilnius-based hotel Draugyste bought expensive real estate in Florida in 2010 and another property in 2013.

In cooperation with American partners, FCIS discovered that in 2016 both Florida properties were sold for almost a double price and the profit exceeded 200,000 euros.

FCIS says sufficient evidence was collected during the pre-trial investigation to suggest that Butrimas intentionally failed to present information and documents on the purchase and sale of real estate in the United States, and the hotel’s accounts do not contain any of this activity.

Information on the 200,000 euro profit was also not presented to Lithuanian tax administrators, and this way Butrimas evaded paying almost 40,000 euros in profit tax.

The criminal case has been handed over to Vilnius City District Court.