The meeting of the heads of 7 Lithuanian institutions was held at the Special Investigation Service (STT). During this meeting, cooperation between the institutions in disclosing and investigating cases of bribery of foreign officials in concluding international business transactions has been discussed. The institutions have signed an interinstitutional agreement on closer cooperation in investigating these crimes. During the meeting, the implementation of the said agreement has been discussed, and the participants at the meeting have agreed to further strengthen the cooperation and to exchange relevant information more actively.
"We understand that consistency of the activities, continuous interaction of the partners, sharing knowledge and experience, and coordinated action form the foundation of success. We have agreed with the responsible authorities not only to intensify exchange of information between the parties to the agreement, but also to apply new preventive and communication measures in disclosing bribery of foreign officials and in publicizing such cases", – said Žydrūnas Bartkus, Director at the STT.
Heads of the STT, of the Prosecutor General’s Office, of the Customs Department, of the Financial Crime Investigation Service, of the State Tax Inspectorate, of the Police Department, of the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, and of the Public Procurement Office participated at the meeting.
Exchange of information that may be relevant in disclosing bribery of foreign officials is the main idea of the cooperation agreement between the Lithuanian institutions. All relevant information must be provided to the STT, which is the main institution in Lithuania that investigates the offenses of this character
At present, there are 44 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that have signed the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, which imposed an obligation on the countries – the parties to the said Convention to effectively combat bribery of foreign officials.
The OECD Stage 1 and Stage 2 assessments of Lithuania took place in 2017. It is noted in the Stage 2 Progress Report of 2019 that Lithuania has made significant progress in the implementation of the OECD recommendations in preventing international corruption. The Stage 3 assessment of Lithuania is planned in 2023.
Bribery of a foreign official in concluding international business transactions is a situation where, in order to obtain unjustified benefits that are associated with the business or to retain the benefits already acquired, a company or entrepreneur intentionally offers, promises to give or gives, either directly or indirectly, any monetary or other unreasonable consideration to a foreign official as remuneration to him or her personally or to a third party for the act or omission of that official in the performance of the official duties.
In 2021, the STT has prepared the methodological recommendations for businesses operating abroad. These recommendations provide information on how to recognize manifestations of corruption and respond to them.
Individuals, who have faced bribery of foreign officials, are asked to report such cases to the STT by contacting the Service by e-mail pranesk@stt.lt, by calling the telephone No +370 5 266 3333 of the hot line "Report to the STT", by using the mobile app "Report to the STT", or on the website www.stt.lt.
