Court rejects Jonava mayor’s appeal over ban from civil service, fine in expenses case

The Lithuanian Court of Appeals has upheld the sentence of Jonava Mayor Mindaugas Sinkevičius, who was convicted of abuse, forgery of a document, or possession of a forged document, as well as misappropriation property.

On 27 May, Kaunas Regional Court found Sinkevičius guilty of misuse of funds allocated for the activities of a councillor.

The Social Democrat was ordered to pay a fine of EUR 12,500 and was banned from taking civil service positions for three years. Sinkevičius has pleaded not guilty to the crimes.

He did not attend the hearing in Vilnius on Thursday.

The Court of Appeals’ verdict came into force immediately, but the parties will have three months to appeal to the Lithuanian Supreme Court.

A pre-trial investigation by the Special Investigation Service (STT) found that in 2019-2023 Mayor Sinkevičius might have caused EUR 1,487 in monetary damage to Jonava District Municipal Administration.

As reported, law enforcement started probing how municipal councillors spend expense allowances after public activist and TV host Andrius Tapinas launched a transparency campaign revealing potential misuse of public funds at municipal councils.