FNTT Guide on BaltCap History: In a couple of months, we will complete an internal evaluation and submit proposals

“I will not talk about the pre-trial investigation separately, as for the internal assessment, I think that in a couple of months we will have certain answers with proposals, perhaps legislative, proposals for internal procedures, both in terms of operational efficiency and resources, as well as operational functionality”, – on Wednesday in the Seimas R. Kiškis spoke to journalists after the closed session of the Anti-Corruption Commission.

“We take a complex approach to the evaluation, and one of the proposals may also be related to financial resources,” he emphasized.

R. Kiškis explained that he came to the commission meeting to explain what actions FNTT is taking in the context of the history of former BaltCap partner Šarūnas Stepukonis.

“We came to explain what procedures, what assessments we, FNTT, perform, what internal processes we review, both in terms of the prevention of money laundering and the effectiveness of pre-trial investigations themselves, we assess the issue of resources, etc. I told what the service does and when we expect an assessment” , – explained the head of FNTT.

ELTA reminds that the former partner of BaltCap Infrastructure Fund Š. Stepukonis was arrested in Vilnius in February. He is suspected of embezzling about 40 million. euro capital fund funds, at least part of which could have been lost by the casino.

After the Vilnius city district court granted the prosecutor’s request and allowed the suspect Š. After Stepukonis was arrested, the former BaltCap partner was released on Friday afternoon.

The investigation on Sh. Stepukonis’ activities are controlled by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is entrusted to the Financial Crimes Investigation Service (FNTT). European Prosecutor Darius Karčinskas applied to the court on Thursday, requesting an extension of Š. Stepukonis’ arrest for another month.

Because of Sh. Two pre-trial investigations are being conducted on Stepukonis. In the first, he is suspected of approximately 27 million. embezzlement of funds from BaltCap funds. According to the prosecutor’s office, more than 20 million EUR Š. Stepukonis could have lost. At that time, another part of the money could have been lost in risky investments through the Interactive Brokers platform.

The second pre-trial investigation was resumed after the opening of the first. The Vilnius District Prosecutor’s Office had already started a pre-trial investigation in 2022 after receiving information from the company “Paysera LT” about Š. 3.9 million was transferred to Stepukonis’ account from the Polish company. euros. According to the prosecutor’s office, it was then established that the money was transferred during the execution of a share sale transaction, so the investigation was terminated.

Sh. Stepukonis managed infrastructure fund companies in Lithuania for various periods and was the chairman of the board of project companies in Poland. According to the register of legal entities, in Lithuania he is a former member of the BaltCap Infrastructure Fund companies “Investiciju uostas”, “Knowledge investment”, “Moelta”, “Nullus”, “Safe community”, “Urban Revitalisation”, “Vējo sesės 1″, ” Head of Venetus capital”, “Vilnius multi-functional complex” and “Žvirgždaičių energija”.

At that time, the Polish registry Š. Stepukonis is listed as the former chairman of the board of companies “Izim SP”, “Deuteros Izim Edu”, “EN Efficiency PL”, “Protos Izim Edu” and “Tritos Izim Edu”. According to BaltCap’s website, Izim is a dedicated portfolio company that aims to raise living standards in Polish cities by upgrading public infrastructure.