„The complaint requested to annul the first instance court verdict and the appellate court decision and to terminate the case,“ said LAT representative Tautvilė Merkevičiūtė to BNS.
The LAT judges’ selection panel, having reviewed the complaint and case materials, refused to accept the complaint. The guilty verdict of the Utena District Court remains in force, by which T. A. Tupinis was found guilty of bribery in April and fined 7,500 euros.
As BNS wrote, on December 20, 2025, in the Molėtai district, on the Vilnius–Utena road, T. A. Tupinis, driving a Jeep car, grossly violated the Traffic Rules and then offered a bribe of 100 euros to a police officer to avoid having his driving license revoked.
T. A. Tupinis overtook a column of cars on a road section where overtaking is prohibited. This was noticed by a Molėtai district police patrol crew. After catching up with the offender, the officers stopped him.
A police officer approaching T. A. Tupinis’s car informed the driver that he would be fined and his driving license would be revoked.
For overtaking in places where overtaking is prohibited, a fine of 170 to 230 euros is imposed and the right to drive is revoked for three to six months.
Then the offender began to ask if it was possible not to revoke the license. When the driver took out his wallet, the police officer warned him that bribing an officer carries criminal liability.
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However, T. A. Tupinis still took out 100 euros, held the money in his hand, nodded, blinked. Understanding that the officer’s body camera was on, the offender loudly said that he was not offering anything, but quietly whispered “take it”.
The video and audio recording, according to the first instance court, disproves the defendant’s defense version.
„During the trial, the defendant stated that he was stressed and only unconsciously took out 100 euros in response to stress, but the court rejects this as a chosen defense version, which is directly contradicted by the video and audio recording,“ the verdict states.
Judge Rūta Šaltupė of the Anykščiai division of the Utena District Court decided to confiscate the 100 euros offered to the officer and impose a 7,500 euro fine on T. A. Tupinis.
T. A. Tupinis appealed the verdict to the Panevėžys Regional Court. However, this court found that the person was rightfully found guilty and dismissed the appeal.
