VILNIUS - After the Lithuanian parliament on Tuesday failed to lift the legal immunity of Social Democrat MP Arunas Dudenas in the so-called "receipt case", the Prosecutor General's Office told BNS that the investigation will have to be closed.
"This is not the first time that the Seimas has refused to grant a request from the prosecutor general, allowing an MP to retain immunity from criminal prosecution," the office said in a comment.
"If all permissible procedural actions have been carried out and there is no authorization from the competent authority - in this case, the Seimas - to bring the MP to criminal liability, the pre-trial investigation must be closed by a decision of the supervising prosecutor," it added.
The Prosecutor General's Office emphasized, however, that the closed pre-trial investigation may be reopened once the MP's term ends or the person otherwise loses immunity.
Earlier on Tuesday, 69 MPs voted in favor of lifting Dudenas' immunity from criminal prosecution in the "receipt case", none voted against, and two abstained, falling short of the required 71 votes to pass the motion in the 141-seat Seimas.
Dudenas managed to avoid criminal liability with the support of most members of the Social Democratic Party political group, as well as MPs from the Nemunas Dawn group and the Farmers and Greens' group.
Under the Constitution, MPs "may not be held criminally liable or be detained, or have their liberty restricted otherwise, without the consent of the Seimas".
Prosecutors suspect Dudenas of fraud, document forgery, use of a forged document, and abuse of office while serving on the Ukmerge municipal council between 2019 and 2023.
According to the case file, while in this role, the politician submitted documents that were not his and unlawfully received 10,500 euros in reimbursement for fuel expenses.
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