Road Administration’s top exec sacked amid corruption suspicions

He is yet another executive of a state-run company dismissed by Transport and Communications Minister Rokas Masiulis during the few months in position, including Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways) and Oro Navigacija (Air Navigation), while Infostruktura’s acting CEO stepped down after an audit of operations was launched.

“Reputations of heads of the institution, which is in charge of hundreds of millions of euros spent on the country’s roads, cannot be clouded by even a slightest shadow,” Masiulis said in a press release.

The Transport and Communications Ministry said that the decision on Zabulionis was taken earlier on Monday based on the information received from the Special Investigation Service on his suspected corrupt operations, protection of certain business groups and abuse of powers by way of providing non-public information to businesses.

The ministry intends to turn to the Prosecutor General’s Office over Zabulionis’ actions.

Egidijus Skrodenis, director of the Lithuanian Road Administration, said the case would have a negative effect upon the directorate’s reputation.

“First of all, there will be an impact on the reputation. (…) We have taken action, made dismissals and are conducting a further probe to find out how advanced it was,” Skrodenis told BNS.

Last September, the Special Investigation Service and the Lithuanian Road Administration signed a cooperation agreement to prevent corruption. In mid-August, the Special Investigation Service had opened an investigation into lack of transparency in public procurement deals of Šiauliai road repairs and maintenance.