At the end of January, the Kaunas District Court completely acquitted N. Dirginčienė, stating that there was no intent in the mayor’s actions, and that payment for fuel using payment cards of relatives and unidentified persons does not constitute a crime.
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However, the prosecution appealed the politician’s acquittal to the Lithuanian Court of Appeal.
Prosecutor Darius Valkavičius, who supported the charge at the Kaunas District Court, requests the same sentence for N. Dirginčienė as in the first instance – a fine of 10,000 euros and a ban for four years from being elected or appointed to positions in state or municipal institutions, their establishments, or companies.
According to the prosecutor, the acquitted person did not incur some of the expenses she declared.
Payments for fuel used for N. Dirginčienė’s council member needs were made with more than 20 different payment cards and using 37 discount cards.
“It is obvious that when it comes to fuel, it is not possible to incur expenses in Lithuania while physically being in the People’s Republic of China, the Kingdom of Norway, the Czech Republic, the Kingdom of Belgium, or the French Republic at the same time,” said D. Valkavičius.
Moreover, at the same time as declaring fuel expenses for council member activities, N. Dirginčienė was using an official car, which is not allowed by the Local Self-Government Law.
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As BNS reported, the mayor of Birštonas was accused of falsifying expense reports for fuel, internet services, equipment, and vehicle repair costs while serving as a council member from 2019 to 2021, thereby illegally obtaining 6,300 euros.
The politician returned over 5,600 euros to the municipality, so the prosecutor filed a civil claim requesting the municipality be awarded 677 euros in property damage. After acquitting the mayor, the court left the claim unexamined and awarded N. Dirginčienė 6,000 euros in compensation from the state for attorney services.
N. Dirginčienė has been leading the Birštonas municipality since 2008. In the most recent municipal council and mayoral elections, she was elected in the first round, receiving support from over 54% of voters.
After the first instance court announced a favorable verdict for her, the politician stated that this does not change her decision not to run for the mayor of Birštonas in the 2027 municipal council elections.
