Lithuanian president vows to make his stance on PM known after institutional assessment

VILNIUS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda met with Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas on Tuesday and says he heard the prime minister's explanations and will present his conclusions after the verdict of the responsible institutions.

"The president heard the prime minister's explanations. The president, just as he said yesterday, will make any assessments after the responsible institutions have presented their conclusions," the presidential press service told BNS.

For his part, Paluckas said after the meeting that he had spoken openly with Nauseda about the business he owned a decade ago casting a shadow on him.

The prime minister also said he has the confidence of the Seimas and has no plans to test it.

On Sunday, Laisves TV and the Siena Center for Investigative Journalism published an investigation into a business of Paluckas owned more than a decade ago, the loans it received and his links with businessman Darijus Vilcinskas.

Following this investigation, the Prosecutor General's Office said it had tasked the Special Investigation Service to look into the prime minister's former businesses and ties with business representatives.

As BNS reported earlier, a pre-trial investigation was earlier opened into possible credit fraud following reports that Garnis, a company co-owned by the prime minister received a soft loan from the national development bank ILTE.

The Seimas opposition maintains that Paluckas cannot continue as prime minister because „the shadow of possible corrupt transactions and connections falls on him". The opposition conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats and the Liberals say undeclared loans, interests and connections could pose a risk to national security.