Lithuania: Labour Party leader suspected of fraud

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is investigating former Lithuanian MEP Viktor Uspaskich (Viktoras Uspasckichas) for possible fraud, LRT reports. EPPO suspects Uspaskich, founder and leader of the opposition Labour Party, of hiring fake assistants to misappropriate more than EUR 500,000 from the European Parliament. In April 2024, police searched the offices of the Labour Party as part of the EPPO investigation, BNS reported. Mindaugas Puidokas, chairman of the Lithuanian Christian Democracy Party (LKDP), which has entered into a coalition with the Labour Party, insisted that the accusations against Uspaskich were a “political reprisal.” Meanwhile, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda called on voters to assess Uspaskich’s conduct in the upcoming parliamentary elections in October 2024, BNS reports.