VTEK Will Not Investigate Benkunskas and Bužinskas for Attending Basketball Games
Translated from Lithuanian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
News
Official statement
Outcome reported
- Lithuania's ethics commission (VTEK) will not investigate Vilnius Mayor V. Benkunskas and deputy A. Bužinskas for attending basketball games.
- The commission found that the officials paid for their game attendance and travel expenses from personal funds.
- An opposition member had questioned whether the officials accepted improper privileges from organizations influencing municipal decisions.
Lithuania's Commission for Investigating the Abuse of Office (VTEK) has decided not to initiate an investigation into Vilnius Mayor V. Benkunskas and his deputy A. Bužinskas regarding their attendance at basketball games. The commission concluded that the municipal leaders covered all expenses for these games using their own personal funds.
"The data collected by the commission confirms that the municipal leaders themselves paid for their participation in the mentioned games from their personal funds. The commission has not received other data indicating that the leaders of Vilnius municipality would have used funds from the municipality, the basketball club, or other persons," VTEK announced.
The data collected by the commission confirms that the municipal leaders themselves paid for their participation in the mentioned games from their personal funds. The commission has not received other data indicating that the leaders of Vilnius municipality would have used funds from the municipality, the basketball club, or other persons.
The inquiry was prompted by an opposition member of the municipal council, Aleksandras Nemunaitis. He had appealed to VTEK, asking them to evaluate Benkunskas's and Bužinskas's presence and first-row seats at the FIBA Champions League final game in Badalona, Spain, where Vilnius's "Rytas" basketball team was playing. Nemunaitis questioned whether politicians and municipal leaders could accept such privileges from organizations whose funding and status are influenced by decisions made by the municipality they lead.
Nemunaitis also asked the ethics watchdog to assess Benkunskas's interactions with Arvydas Avulis, chairman of the real estate development company "Hanner." Avulis was pictured alongside Benkunskas at the "Ryto" game in Spain. "Hanner" is involved with the company managing the concession for the National Stadium being built in the capital and is developing other major projects in the city. Earlier reports indicated that the Vilnius City Council decided to award "Rytas" a 500,000 euro bonus for the 2025–2026 season due to high sports achievements and promoting the city's name.
Can politicians and municipal leaders accept such privileges from organizations whose funding and status are influenced by decisions made by the municipality they lead?
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by Delfi in Lithuanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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