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The Panevėžys Regional Court, having examined a civil case on appeal on Wednesday, adopted a ruling that partially amended the first-instance court's decision but confirmed that Antanas Martinkus, a former member of the Šilutė District Municipality Council, must repay the majority of funds he unjustly received related to his Council member activities.

The panel of judges ultimately ordered A. Martinkus to repay €21,615.03 of unjustly acquired funds to the Šilutė District Municipality Administration, along with 5% annual interest calculated from the date the civil case was initiated in court.

The Prosecutor of the Public Interest Protection Division of the Prosecutor General's Office filed a lawsuit defending the public interest regarding municipal budget funds that A. Martinkus had unjustly received as compensation for Council member activity expenses during the 2019–2023 term. The total amount compensated to the Council member exceeded €26 thousand.

The panel of judges noted that the payment to Municipal Council members is targeted, intended to compensate expenses incurred exclusively in carrying out the Council member's duties, and not for personal or party needs.

The Court confirmed that the factual circumstances established during the case undeniably prove A. Martinkus' dishonest conduct in receiving compensation, as an extremely high consumption of diesel was found; fuel was purchased several times a day, with very short intervals between fillings. Furthermore, it was established that the "Opel Movano" vehicle with Social Democratic Party promotional stickers was not necessary for the Council member's functions, and during the quarantine period, when activities had to be organised remotely and movement was restricted, large fuel expenses could not have been incurred.

However, contrary to the first-instance court, the Regional Court's panel of judges acknowledged that the "Mitsubishi L200" vehicle (SUV) could have been used for performing the Council member's functions, considering the need to travel on unpaved roads.

Applying the principles of justice, reasonableness, and fairness, the panel of judges decided that it would be fair to compensate only 30% of the expenses incurred for the fuel and repair of this vehicle, taking into account that the car was also used for personal needs. However, the court categorically rejected the appellant's other arguments.

"For the defendant, who was elected as a municipal council member, and who is subject to higher requirements of diligence, care, transparency, honesty, exemplary conduct, selflessness, respect for people and the state, the circumstance that merely possessing a fuel receipt or invoice may not be sufficient to justify that the entire expense amount indicated in the document is related to the Council member's activities, should have been sufficiently clear," the court noted.

The panel of judges decided to deviate from the usual procedure for allocating litigation costs and did not award the defendant the litigation costs (incurred in the appellate court). This decision was based on the fact that the prosecutor's claims were only rejected in a small part, and the entire civil process and associated costs were essentially caused by the defendant's own actions—he submitted unfounded documents to the Municipality and failed to prove the legality of the majority of the funds paid to him in court.

The ruling of the Panevėžys Regional Court enters into force immediately but may be appealed in cassation procedure to the Supreme Court of Lithuania within three months.

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