The Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office has overturned the decision of the Special Investigation Service (STT) not to open a pre-trial investigation and instructed it to conduct an additional assessment of the decisions to take over the management of mixed municipal waste in the Vilnius region and carry out this activity without the required permits.
In August, we contacted the Prosecutor’s Office, asking it to investigate whether the companies VAATC, Ecoservice, Ekonovus and Ekobazė had violated Article 202(2) of the Criminal Code by handling waste without the mandatory integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) permits.
We also requested an assessment of whether the Mayor of Vilnius, the head of VAATC and employees of these institutions had abused their official positions or exceeded their authority, thereby causing substantial damage as defined in Article 228(1) of the Criminal Code.
The Prosecutor’s Office decided to consolidate these requests and examine them jointly.
“We are gathering increasing amounts of evidence indicating that we have been subjected to a cynical corporate raid, that waste management operations were deliberately taken over and that significant harm has been caused to residents, the environment and the state. This is not a question of contractual performance or the company’s financial capacity. We are talking about what appears to have been a premeditated campaign against one of the market participants. Only law enforcement authorities can properly investigate these circumstances,” says Algirdas Blazgys, CEO of Energesman.
On 4 September, Greta Beržanskė, Senior Specialist at the Reports Examination Division of the STT’s Investigation Coordination Department, issued a decision refusing to open a pre-trial investigation on the grounds that no elements of a criminal offence had been identified.
Energesman appealed the decision. After examining the appeal, the Prosecutor’s Office overturned the STT’s decision, stating that it “was unfounded and adopted hastily, without sufficiently establishing all relevant circumstances”.
The Prosecutor’s Office instructed the STT to conduct additional inquiries into the circumstances, including how the decision of the Vilnius City Municipality’s Emergency Operations Centre was adopted, given that the document was signed only after it had already been invoked.
“Vilnius City Municipality and VAATC coordinated their actions: in its documents, VAATC cited decisions by the Vilnius Emergency Operations Centre and its head that had not yet been formally adopted. Such actions are unlawful and potentially criminal. We expect those responsible to face the appropriate consequences, as they should in a state governed by the rule of law,” emphasises attorney Dr Paulius Miliauskas, a partner at the law firm Miliauskas ir Lauraitytė.
In September, the STT and the Financial Crime Investigation Service completed a pre-trial investigation into systemic corruption at VAATC. The investigation documented the payment of at least €162,000 in bribes. Two former VAATC employees have been charged. In addition to fraudulent financial accounting, the investigation covered the unlawful possession of firearms and explosives.
Another former VAATC employee was convicted of corruption in August and fined EUR 101,650.
Pending final court rulings, Energesman maintains that both the operating agreement and the modernisation agreement for the Vilnius waste treatment facility remain valid.
According to preliminary estimates, Energesman’s losses will amount to approximately EUR 20 million. The losses may continue to increase the longer the facility remains under VAATC’s control.