Lithuanian Prime Minister under investigation by ethics committee over possible conflict of interest

Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas is under investigation for a potential conflict of interest after a company he co-owns was accused of receiving a subsidized government loan, UNN reports, citing Politico.

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Last week, journalists reported that Garnis, a battery manufacturing company partly owned by the Lithuanian Prime Minister, received a subsidized loan of €200,000 from the state development bank ILTE while Paluckas was in office.

The Prime Minister denies any conflict of interest, arguing that he is not involved in the company's activities and did not influence ILTE's decision on the loan. He has appealed to the Main Commission on Official Ethics, which is accountable to Parliament, to assess the situation.

"The proposed investigation will focus on the actions of the Prime Minister, his conduct during the government meeting" where ILTE was discussed, said Gediminas Sakalauskas, head of the commission, on Wednesday. "We will try to answer the question of whether there was any violation of the law."

Although some opposition lawmakers have called on Palukas to resign after the allegations, the Prime Minister said he would not, adding that the journalists' claims were "fabricated out of nothing."

According to Sakalauskas, the investigation could take up to three months.