Special Investigation Service Performance Report 2018
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SPECIAL INVESTIGATION SERVICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA ACTIVITY REPORT 2018 ANTI-CORRUPTION ENVIRONMENT IN LITHUANIA IN 2018 * CPI – Corruption prevention index * LMC – Lithuanian Map of Corruption * SGI – Sustainable governance indicator place 38 28 place per points per cent 41 59 cent 49 states 52 per surveyed 38 cent per cent per 34 25 cent per 8 cent 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 CPI LMC LMC LMC LMC LMC LMC LMC Would not give Would report Had to give Prevalent Prevalent Prevalent Accountability a bribe a corruption a bribe in corruption trade in passing of of the public case the course situation when influence legislation governance a political party of the past promises to pass favouring 12months a favourable individual decision if the groups of businessman interests grants a financial support CORRUPTION RISKS IN SELF-GOVERNANCE 55 cases 461 offences 236 persons MAIN CAUSES OF CORRUPTION IN SELF-GOVERNANCE Politicisation Conflict of Nepotism interest Average intensity Every 5th employee Every 4th employee Every 9th employee of 12 per cent of winners of of nepotism risk in of Lithuania's municipal of Lithuania's municipal Lithuania's municipal municipal public procure- Lithuania's municipal administrations is administrations is institutions and entities ments rendering services administrations is related by family links a member of is a member of a to municipalities accounted 18 per cent a political party political party for one third of the total value of public procurement – EUR 483.3 million MAIN ACTIVITIES OF STT IN 2018 ANTI-CORRUPTION ANALYTICAL CRIMINAL CORRUPTION ADMINISTRATION EDUCATION AND ANTI-CORRUPTION PROSECUTION PREVENTION AREA INFORMATION An analysis of the Identified 380 offences 74 legal acts or draft 79 per cent of lectures 0.11 per cent of the prevalence rate of the to the civil service and legislation assessed at and seminars were Lithuania's budget three main factors leading public interests own initiative related to high risk allocated to the perfor- to corruption (nepotism, sectors mance of the STT favouritism and conflict Suspicions were raised 62 per cent of recom- functions of interest) against 217 persons mendations implement- 58 per cent of anti-cor- ed, 27 per cent are being ruption events organised The lowest turnover of As a result of such The number of identi- implemented, 4 per cent at the initiative of the officials in the past three investigations, certain fied trade in influence implemented partially STT years – 3.3 per cent measures were taken to cases increased to 72 ensure complex elimina- Assessed 60 corruption Anti-corruption educa- Cooperation with 10 65 pre-trial investiga- prevention programmes tion area presented international anti-cor- tion of corruption risks tions completed in the fields of public of Lithuanian munici- during 5 foreign visits ruption institutions procurement, assistance palities and their implementation plans 101 cases of appearing Participation in 75 and conflict of interest on TV and radio shows legislative processes On the basis of investiga- tions, new impetus was given to prevention and investigation of conflicts of interests Contents FOREWORD BY THE DIRECTOR ......................................................................................... 7 ASSESSMENT OF CHANGES IN THE ANTI-CORRUPTION ENVIRONMENT IN LITHUANIA ......................................................................................... 9 Lithuanian anti-corruption environment in the global context ...................................... 9 Anti-corruption environment in Lithuania .................................................................... 11 Crime situation ................................................................................................................. 11 Results of sociological surveys ................................................................................................. 12 International bribery ............................................................................................................... 15 CORRUPTION IN SELF-GOVERNANCE ........................................................................... 17 Corruption problems at municipal institutions .............................................................. 17 Corruption status of municipality institutions ....................................................................... 17 The status of the anti-corruption environment at municipalities .......................................... 19 STT investigations at municipalities ....................................................................................... 20 Reasons for corruption incidence at municipalities ....................................................... 21 Nepotism .................................................................................................................................. 21 Politicisation ............................................................................................................................ 22 Conflicts of interests ................................................................................................................. 23 CRIMINAL PROSECUTION ................................................................................................. 25 ANALYTICAL ANTI-CORRUPTION INTELLIGENCE .................................................... 29 PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION ....................................................................................... 33 PUBLIC ANTI-CORRUPTION EDUCATION AND INFORMATION ............................. 37 ADMINISTRATION AREA ................................................................................................... 41 STT PRIORITIES IN 2019 ..................................................................................................... 47 ANNEXES ............................................................................................................................... 49 ANNEX 1. Activities related to criminal prosecution, statistical indicators ............................................. 50 ANNEX 2. Activities related to analytical anti-corruption intelligence, statistical indicators ................ 54 ANNEX 3. Activities related to corruption prevention, statistica indicators ............................................ 56 ANNEX 4. Activity related to anti-corruption education and information of the society ....................... 57 ANNEX 5. Activities related to the aministration area, statistical indicators .......................................... 58 5 FOREWORD BY THE DIRECTOR For the Special Investigation Service of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter – STT, the Service) 2018 was a year of major changes. The Service started the year with a new version of the Law on the Special Investigation Service which in addition to a reviewed remuneration levels motivating the Service’s officers and preventing their turnover clearly identified four key lines of the institution’s activities. The new, fourth line of the Service’s operations, analytical anti-corruption intelligence, was singled out based on the analytical activities carried out by the Service, and added to their previous responsibilities of criminal prosecution, corruption prevention and anti-corruption education. During the past year, the Service also continued upgrading its operations, as it separated the anti-corruption education division, strengthened its criminal intelligence divisions, completed rotation procedures of several Service officers and significantly invested in the training of its personnel. While implementing changes within the institution, we also took into account the overall anti- corruption climate in Lithuania: we identified the main problems and initiated actions aimed at triggering badly needed changes in the area. Having established the persistent prevalence of corruption in Lithuanian municipalities, in 2018, we focused the Service’s criminal prosecution operations capabilities on investigating corruption at the self-governance level. With no change in the corruption perception index in Lithuania for the past four years and an insufficient involvement of the public sector in combating corruption, we drew up and presented to the public a new Corruption Prevention Model. In spring 2019, a new draft Law on the Prevention of Corruption will be submitted by the Service for consideration to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. Having concluded that the coordination of corruption prevention in Lithuania is not sufficiently efficient, STT resolved to create a governmental commission headed by the Prime Minister to coordinate the fight against corruption and replace the inter-agency Commission headed by the Minister of Justice. Led by the belief that the most efficient anti-corruption investment is education in the area, we expanded the Service’s anti-corruption education capacities and set a target to develop an electronic anti-corruption training platform – these are only some of the objectives we were pursuing and found solutions to in 2018. Other results of the Service’s operations, the work carried out and assessment of the situation are presented to the reader in the current Annual Report, while this year’s main goal remains the same – committed, focused, bold and professional operations of the Service combating corruption with the coordinated and efficient involvement of both the public and the private sectors. Žydrūnas Bartkus Director of the Special Investigation Service of the Republic of Lithuania 7 ASSESSMENT