The Liberals will appeal the conviction in the political corruption case

“The board made decisions on filing a cassation complaint and we also authorized the lawyer to apply for an extension of the deadline for paying that fine,” party chairperson Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen told reporters on Tuesday evening.

Last Wednesday, the Court of Appeal of Lithuania changed the decision of the court of first instance and sentenced all the defendants in the political corruption case of the concern “MG Grupė” (previously called “MG Baltic”), some of them were sentenced to actual prison sentences.

Almost 377 thousand was allocated to the liberal movement. EUR fine. More than 1.1 million were allocated to “MG Grupa” and the opposition Labor Party, respectively. and more than 301 thousand EUR fines.

According to the chairman of the party, clarification is currently awaited as to whether the fine can be paid from state grants.

“We are waiting for a written explanation from VMI and CEC, because the opinions expressed are opposite. Of course, we have to have documents for that,” she said.

The decision of the Court of Appeal enters into force from the day of its publication, but may be appealed to the Supreme Court of Lithuania.

V. Čmilytė-Nielsen admitted that the imposed fine will force the party to live more frugally, but will not prevent it from preparing for the elections. She also claimed that she had no influence on the board’s decision not to participate in the presidential election.

“Of course, the fine was imposed, it affects the Liberal movement and forces us to live more frugally next year, but my colleagues and I remembered that there have been really more difficult tests, so I think that next year we will prepare for the elections and participate in them as necessary”, – she said.