VILNIUS - After nearly two months of an intense investigation, Vilnius prosecutors closed a probe into the privatization of the Crowne Plaza Hotel and concluded that Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas was not guilty of graft.
The investigation found no trace of criminal or penal violations carried out during the privatization of the hotel, formally known as Draugyste and which is now partially owned by Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas' wife, Kristina Brazauskiene.
"An analysis of witness testimony and expert conclusions showed that the state suffered no damages in the hotel sell-off," said Vilimas. The amount paid for the hotel was higher than the estimated value of the facility at the time, said Prosecutor Dainius Vilimas, who led the investigation.
The upscale Crowne Plaza Hotel is located in downtown Vilnius and is estimated to be worth 37 million litas, according to a recent real estate value report. Speculation surrounding the hotel's sell-off reached a peak late last year when the opposition Conservatives began hurling accusations at Brazauskas, the Social Democratic leader. Eventually, the exchange became so vitriolic that the prime minister turned to prosecutors for legal recourse and the president was forced to intervene.
The scandal threatened to topple the government, as lawmakers from two coalition parties backed the opposition's calls for a parliamentary investigation.
Still, evidence and expert conclusions showed that the state incurred no damages in the Draugyste sell-off. The final price paid for the hotel was more than the facility's determined balance value.
The investigation also found that Brazauskas, who was president at the time, was not involved in the privatization and had no influence on the process.
Opposition lawmakers previously implied that Brazauskas allegedly used his influence while serving as Lithuania's president from 1993-1998 to ensure that the hotel was privatized.
Brazauskas was reserved when commenting on the news from the prosecutor's office: "I'm neither happy, nor sad." The prime minister said he had never doubted the legality behind the hotel's privatization, and that prosecutors confirmed this.
The PM expressed hopes that the closed pre-trail investigation would put an end to suspicions surrounding the transparency of his family business. He also stressed that numerous commissions had already investigated this purchase, and that he himself had insisted on a professional investigation. The prime minister finally deemed the matter resolved.
However, President Valdas Adamkus said the prosecutors' investigation did not answer questions to calm society. "In my opinion, this conclusion doesn't provide Lithuanian society with answers to the question raised. This, without a doubt, leaves certain tensions in our society - area for interpretations," Adamkus said in an interview with Ziniu Radijas.
Yet Brazauskas' coalition partner, parliamentary chairman Arturas Paulauskas, regarded the prosecutors' statement as a satisfactory answer to all questions. "I believe the prosecutors worked long enough, questioned all witnesses, and should have answered the questions," the parliamentary chairman said.
Another coalition partner, a Labor Party leader, Viktoras Muntianas spoke in similar tune: "The fewer not guilty people in Lithuania, the better."
However, the parliamentary opposition promises not to relent. Claiming that, apart from a legal evaluation, society needs moral and political assessment, MP and Homeland Union leader Andrius Kubilius continues to throw stones. First he asked the prosecutors to reveal the pretrial investigation material to the public. When refused, he requested the prosecutor general to grant him personal access to the materials.
"One shouldn't forget the case of removed president Rolandas Paksas. He wasn't imprisoned but his political and constitutional crimes have been clearly proved," Kubilius told daily Lietuvos Rytas.
The opposition still doesn't rule out the possibility to return to the question in the Seimas for political assessments. "Political responsibility is one thing, and legal is another. Before the prosecutors even launched the investigation, we said that they are unlikely to discover crimes, which would send to jail, but there is also political responsibility," conservative MP Rasa Jukneviciene said in a press release.
