Prosecutors refuse to open probe on MP Bastys

Prosecutors say the materials provided by the State Security Department about Bastys’ ties with representatives of Russian state companies and the criminal world “does not contain any information that would prove that MP Bastys’ actions contain features of a crime, as stipulated in Chapter 118 of the Criminal Code.”

“Bastys plea to open a pre-trial investigation against him under Chapter 118 of the Criminal Code does not specify any data to prove his actions as containing features of the crime he has indicated. Therefore, there are also no grounds to regard the plea from Bastys as a reason for pre-trial investigation,” Rita Stundienė, spokeswoman for the Prosecutor General’s Office, told BNS.

Lithuania’s Criminal Code stipulates up to seven years in prison for assisting a foreign country or its organization to act against Lithuania.

Bastys faces impeachment due to the ties, as specified in materials from the State Security Department, to Yevgeny Kostin, who is seen as a representative of Rosatom, Piotr Voyeiko, a former KGB agent, Ernest Matskevich, a journalist of the Russian state channel RTR, Saturnas Dubininkas, who is said to be a former Kaunas mafia leader, and Vadim Pakhomov, a businessman suspected of illegal activity.

The department said the ties made Bastys vulnerable and jeopardize the safety of state secrets he has access to. The parliament has endorsed the conclusions by the National Security and Defense Committee, which found him operating against Lithuania’s interests and listed the ties with the individuals working for Russia as a threat to national security.

Bastys denies all accusations, emphasizing he had not breached his oath as an MP.