Businessman suspected in probe into influence peddling in Lithuanian Labor Party's case

VILNIUS - Suspicions have been brought against Arunas Cicenas, a co-owner of the road marking firm Kasandros Grupe, as part of a law-enforcement probe into suspected influence peddling in the Lithuanian Supreme Court's hearing of the Lithuanian Labor Party's fraudulent bookkeeping case, according to unofficial information available to BNS.

Law-enforcement officials on Thursday searched Kasandros Grupe's offices and the home of Cicenas, who is suspected of acting as a go-between in seeking illegal influence in getting Vytautas Gapsys, a former high-ranking member of the Labor Party, cleared of charges.

Law-enforcement would not comment on the information.

Cicenas and Laima Ciceniene, Kasandros Grupe's director and another shareholder, could not be reached by BNS for comment on Friday.

As part of the pre-trial investigation, law-enforcement officials have conducted searches at the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor's Office and detained Rita Aliukoniene, head of the First Division of Criminal Prosecution, on suspicions of large-scale influence peddling. Viktoras Aidukas, a Supreme Court judge, and Gapsys have been questioned as special witnesses in the case.