A Lithuanian court has found Prienai district Mayor Alvydas Vaicekauskas guilty of abuse of office, fraud, and document forgery over false expense claims he submitted while serving as a municipal councilor. The Alytus District Court fined him 7,500 euros ($8,800) and barred him for three years from holding elected or appointed public office once the judgment becomes final.
Investigators found that between 2019 and 2023 Vaicekauskas submitted 17 expense reports containing false information about fuel purchases purportedly related to his council work, in some cases using bank cards belonging to other people. Prosecutors said he improperly obtained about 1,113 euros from the municipality.
The ruling can be appealed within 20 days. His lawyer, Audrius Pėstininkas, told OCCRP the defense would appeal the verdict. “We did not find in the judgment answers to the questions raised by the defense, and naturally we still do not understand which legal act or procedure A. Vaicekauskas violated, or where the court saw document forgery or deception in his actions,” he said.
