President: 'G. Paluckas has informed me that he is resigning'

President Gitanas Nausėda announced that Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas had informed him on Thursday morning that he was resigning from his post. "Gintautas Paluckas called me in the morning and informed me of his resignation," Nausėda told reporters in Medininkai.

Paluckas promised to make a decision on his premiership or answer all the questions put to him within two weeks. This is the timeframe offered by President Gitanas Nausėda. The Prime Minister said he would give his answers after assessing the situation during his two-week vacation.

The Prime Minister started his resignation with the support of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, which he leads. The LSDP presidium, which met last week, expressed confidence in Paluckas, while party leaders claimed that the prime minister was being systematically attacked. 

Tensions have been rising within the ruling majority. Saulius Skvernelis, chairman of the coalition's Democratic Union "In the name of Lithuania", said that if the prime minister did not resign, his party would not remain in the ruling coalition. 

As ELTA wrote, over the last couple of months new journalistic investigations have been appearing in the public space about Paluckas and his past, business ties and suspicious transactions.

At the end of May, the Centre for Investigative Journalism „Siena“ and „Laisvės TV“ reported that the company „Garnis“, which is partly owned by the Prime Minister, had received a soft loan of 200,000 euros from the national development bank ILTE while Paluckas was already Prime Minister.

The second part of the investigation into „Siena“ and „Laisvės TV“ raised questions about the hundreds of thousands of euros in loans received and not repaid by „Uni Trading“, a company associated with businessman Darius Vilčinskas, which had been operating a lake bed topography app until 2018, under the control of the Prime Minister. It was also reported that in 2012, the future Prime Minister purchased a 223,000 euro home in the territory of the Verkiai Regional Park in the capital city of Verkiai from a company headed by the businessman. Although Paluckas denied having business relations with Vilčinskas, the latter later admitted to "Verslo žinios" that he had invested in the social democrat's company.

A third investigation soon followed – „Siena“ and „Laisvės TV“ found that in 2012 a Cypriot company had sold to Paluckas a cheap apartment in the centre of the capital on a plot of land that the politician had created himself while he was director of the Vilnius municipal administration.

Last but not least, it emerged on Sunday that just a few weeks ago, Paluckas repaid the damages awarded to the Vilnius City Council in the so-called "rat case" back in 2012; the politician paid the last €4.9 thousand out of the €16.5 thousand awarded on 8 July of this year.

The journalists of the channel „Redakcija“ have also reported on Palucks' past. The investigation noted that in 2009, the Social Democrat leader purchased a plot of land in Vilnius' Laurel Street, where, as later ruled by a court, a state-owned forest was illegally privatised. The plot of land was also created to restore the property of people who had lost their land during the Soviet era, but soon fell into the hands of the Prime Minister and Genovaitė Arlauskienė.

Last but not least, public figure Andrius Tapinas reported that the company „Dankora“, which was founded only last year by Virginija Paluckienė, the brother of Prime Minister Paluckas, received European support, most of which was spent on buying the land from „Garnis“, a company part-owned by the prime minister.

The circumstances of the use of the ILTE loan received by „Garnis“ are the subject of a pre-trial investigation by the Financial Crimes Investigation Service (FICIS), and the situation is also being assessed by the High Official Ethics Commission (HECE). The Special Investigation Service (STT) is investigating the circumstances of the second investigation.

At the moment, the Seimas opposition is already collecting signatures to convene an extraordinary session, during which it is possible that an impeachment of Paluckas may be initiated.