According to the president’s adviser, this is one the biggest political scandals in recent years. What makes it such is the company’s participation in public procurement and ties to an influential ex-minister who is an incumbent MP, Segalovičienė told the radio station Žinių radijas on Tuesday.
She criticised the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD) for claiming that it has already paid a political price for the scandal, as stated by its chairman Gabrielius Landsbergis, while former minister of social security and labour Monika Navickienė refused to withdraw from the party.
According to the president’s adviser, as the probe continues and more details emerge about suspected crimes and damage caused to the state, the issue of political ethics and accountability remains open.
"Damage to the state was done because trust in the state is a public good and a certain common interest," said the president’s adviser.
According to her, the scandal signals about the need to strengthen authorities tackling money laundering, to step up control and enhance the role of the state.
"We have to strengthen public procurement abilities of institutions in the public sector when acquiring information technologies, financial technologies, so that our public institutions would not overpay for services," she added.
As reported previously, seven people were detained as part of the investigation into payment service provider Foxpay. Among them were its owner Ieva Trinkūnaitė and her life partner Vilhelmas Germanas, as well as Mindaugas Navickas, the husband of former minister of social security and labour Monika Navickienė. Law enforcement stated that former minister Navickienė was not involved in the investigation and that so far there was no reason to interview her.
It is suspected that a group of conspirators might have legalised proceeds from crime, at least EUR 17 million in 2023-2024. It is also thought that more than EUR 100,000 was paid in bribes „to certain employees“ in an attempt to conceal the company’s activities from authorities – the FNTT and the Bank of Lithuania. Law enforcement suspects that bribes were paid for concealing or destroying important data.
Dozens of searches were conducted discovering large sums of cash, technical equipment and electronic information, as well as cryptocurrencies, property and artwork.
A governmental commission previously prevented Foxpay’s owner Ieva Trinkūnaitė from acquiring the company LITLAB, whose main shareholder is Mindaugas Navickas, the husband of former minister of social security and labour Monika Navickienė.
Then minister Navickienė said that Trinkūnaitė is her distant relative, a sister-in-law’s sister. News website 15min.lt discovered that in 2023 Navickienė took a private jet to Dubai together with Trinkūnaitė and Germanas. She resigned as minister of social security and labour when this information became public.