According to the case data, in 2022–2023, the accused, while managing a small partnership, received more than 106 thousand euros in income from clients for construction work performed and construction materials sold. It was determined that about 22 thousand euros were used to pay wages, but these payments were not included in the accounting, and the remaining amount of more than 84 thousand euros was embezzled.
During the investigation, it was also found that M.J. used part of the embezzled funds – almost 40 thousand euros – in the partnership’s activities to pay for goods and services. These funds were accounted for in the financial records as a debt of the partnership to the manager, thus seeking to conceal their criminal origin and legalize them.
Furthermore, the court found that in 2022–2023, the partnership’s manager fraudulently managed the company’s financial accounting. It was determined that transactions and client payments for various construction works, including sewage, plumbing, heated floors, foundation installation, roof reconstruction, concreting, and other works, were not included in the accounting. As a result, more than 106 thousand euros in income were not reflected in the accounting.
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M.J. was accused under Article 183, Part 3 (embezzlement of property of very high value), Article 216, Part 1 (legalization of criminally acquired property), Article 222, Part 2 (fraudulent management of financial accounting), and Article 220, Part 1 (submission of false data on income, profit, or assets) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania.
The accused was acquitted under Article 220, Part 1 of the Criminal Code. During the court proceedings, some witnesses changed their previously given testimonies regarding the actual amounts paid for the work performed and construction materials. Taking into account the circumstances established in court, the scope of the criminal act was clarified, and the calculated amount of unpaid taxes to the state decreased, which did not reach the limit applicable for criminal liability under this article.
The court found M.J. guilty and imposed a final consolidated fine of 15 thousand euros. A criminal impact measure was also applied – property worth more than 84 thousand euros, corresponding to the value of the embezzled funds, was confiscated.
The temporary restriction of property rights for the real estate belonging to the accused – a land plot and two residential houses – was extended until the execution of the part of the judgment regarding property confiscation.
The pre-trial investigation was led and the state prosecution in court was supported by the prosecutor of the Second Criminal Prosecution Division of the Kaunas Regional Prosecutor’s Office, and the investigation was carried out by officers of the Economic Crimes Investigation Board of the Klaipėda County Chief Police Commissariat.
The judgment can be appealed to the Lithuanian Court of Appeal within 20 days from its announcement.
