“The Prosecutor General’s Office does have questions that members of the current Seimas could provide answers to. And I think we will request that they answer these questions in the near future,” Justas Laucius told reporters after Wednesday’s meeting of a special commission set up by the Seimas to look into the prosecutor’s request to strip Gapšys of his immunity from prosecution.
He declined to name the MPs or the parties they belong to.
Laucius told reporters after the closed meeting that Gapšys did not deny the facts the prosecutors base their suspicions on.
“I understand that Gapšys does not deny the facts, but he is surprised that this is regarded as criminal offence,” he said.
Gapšys is suspected of accepting bribes in exchange for securing votes for decisions favourable to MG Baltic, one of the biggest manufacturing, trade, real estate and media groups in Lithuania.
Gapšys said that the prosecutor did not provide any evidence to prove that he had promised to secure votes in favour of certain decisions in exchange for money and that the Seimas commission would ask both the prosecutors and the Labour Party to provide additional information.
The commission has until September 15 to draft a recommendation to the Seimas which will then vote on stripping Gapšys of his immunity.
Prosecutors say that they suspect that Gapšys accepted a €25,000 bribe for himself and other individuals in exchange for adopting two political decisions that were beneficial to MG Baltic.
Gapšys has rejected all suspicions against him.
Under the Constitution, a member of the Seimas enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution, which can only be lifted by the parliament.
As part of the pre-trial investigation, bribery suspicions have also been brought against Eligijus Masiulis, the former leader of the Liberal Movement and a former member of parliament.
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