Reliability of some people in Lithuania’s state-owned companies is a concern

“In the near future, we will speak to the government about expediting the submission of the Law on Strategic Enterprises, which would solve a great deal of problems and make the entire sector more transparent,” Vytautas Bakas told reporters after a closed meeting on transport sector companies of strategic importance to national security.

“We are concerned about the reliability of some people in some companies,” Bakas said.

He did not name any specific companies, but mentioned a case in which Romualdas Lipškis, a former employee of the state air traffic company Oro Navigacija (Air Navigation), was sentenced to five years in prison for spying for Belarus.

“There was a high-profile court case in which an employee of a company was convicted of espionage. Let’s say this is a certain indicator that this company was vulnerable,” the chairman said when asked to elaborate on his statement about unreliable employees.

“As to ensuring reliability and loyalty, we think that the procedures that are now used to assess the reliability of the top executives and members of the management boards of these companies should be extended to include individuals who make or prepare key decisions related to the enterprises’ development and investment,” he said.

Bakas identified nepotism as a major problem at state-owned enterprises. When asked to name specific companies, however, he only mentioned Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways).

The new management of Lietuvos Geležinkeliai has turned to prosecutors over the former management’s practices. It is said that many of the state railway company’s employees are relatives with each other or they have relatives in companies that sell their services to the railway operator.