The Klaipėda Board of the Special Investigation Service (STT) is conducting a pre-trial investigation on the possible illegal collection of hazardous waste from vessels in the territory of Klaipėda State Seaport and handling thereof by abuse of office and bribery. The CEO of a facility handling hazardous waste in Klaipėda State Seaport, three employees of this facility, an officer of the Klaipėda Board of the Environmental Protection Department, and the former head of one of the divisions of Klaipėdos vanduo, AB are suspected of corruption offences: bribery, bribery of an intermediary, and illegal transportation of hazardous waste.
According to the data of the pre-trial investigation, in the period 2020 to 2021, representatives of the facility handling hazardous waste in the territory of Klaipėda State Seaport allegedly systematically bribed an inspector of the Klaipėda Board of the Environmental Protection Department under the Ministry of Environment. The bribes were allegedly granted in order to obtain favourable decisions from the State Environmental Protection Inspectorate of Klaipėda in relation to the facility: a desired decision in an administrative offence case, as well as potentially illegal actions in investigating the activities of other competitor facilities, in order to prevent other facilities from taking part in the public procurements for hazardous waste management.
It is also suspected that a person who previously headed one of the divisions of Klaipėdos vanduo, AB was systematically bribed to prevent control of the actual contamination of the wastewater brought to the Klaipėda City Sewage Treatment Plant by Klaipėdos vanduo, AB and thus to prevent the company from being subjected to an additional taxation of excess pollution. There are also data that the former head of one of the divisions of Klaipėdos vanduo, AB may have demanded bribes from other companies as well.
In addition, the circumstances regarding the possible illegal transportation of hazardous waste from the territory of Lithuania are investigated, indicating untrue data in the shipping documents. The investigation will determine the extent of the damage caused to the State and the environment by these potentially corruption offenses.
Persons who may have been demanded or induced to grant a bribe and/or who may have information relevant to this investigation are invited to contact the Klaipėda Board of the STT. Please note that a person may be exempted from criminal liability for bribery if he/she has been demanded or induced to grant a bribe, and he/she directly or indirectly, by him/herself, or through an intermediary, had offered or promised to grant a bribe, or had granted a bribe, and voluntarily informed the law enforcement authorities of this fact within the shortest possible time, but no later than before he/she was recognised as a suspect.
This pre-trial investigation is being conducted by the Klaipėda Board of the STT. The investigation is under the control and direction of the Prosecutor of the Organised Crime and Corruption Investigation Division of the Klaipėda Regional Prosecutor’s Office. This pre-trial investigation is being conducted in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Department under the Ministry of the Environment, the Environmental Protection Agency under the Ministry of the Environment, and Klaipėdos vanduo, AB.
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