A complaint to Lithuania’s General Prosecutor’s Office has brought scrutiny to the Finance Ministry’s competition for director general of the Customs Department. A former prime minister’s adviser denies that she gave instructions about the selection, while the MP behind the complaint has also asked for a service inspection.
What is alleged
Conservative MP Dalia Asanavičiūtė-Gružauskienė asked the General Prosecutor’s Office to assess whether former prime minister Inga Ruginienė gave instructions to the then leadership of the Finance Ministry so that Mantas Matulionis would win the Customs Department director general selection. The MP’s request concerns possible abuse of office in the organisation and conduct of the competition. The source does not establish that instructions were given or that abuse took place. It records a request for law-enforcement authorities to assess the available information.
The response from Ruginienė’s adviser
Ignas Dobrovolskas, an adviser to Ruginienė, said she was not connected with the selection. He told ELTA that the former minister had already made clear that she gave no instructions concerning the competition for Customs Department director general. Dobrovolskas also said the MP had the right to approach competent institutions so they could assess the information within their powers. That response sets out a denial, rather than a finding by an investigating authority. The allegations remain subject to any assessment that the relevant institutions decide to make.
How the public selection worked
The mechanism described is a ministry-run competition for a public office, rather than a purchase of goods or services. The Finance Ministry published the competition, and Matulionis won it in summer after working as deputy director of the Environmental Protection Department. The successful candidate is appointed to lead the Customs Department for a five-year term. The search began after former director general Darius Žvironas was dismissed following his detention for driving while intoxicated. The dispute therefore concerns the integrity of a public appointment process and the role of oversight bodies in reviewing it.
A second request for checks
As part of the same matter, Asanavičiūtė-Gružauskienė contacted the director of the VIP Protection Service, Rymantas Mockevičius. She asked for an official service inspection and for two VIP Protection Service officers to be questioned. According to the source, those officers may have taken part in the allegedly unlawful organisation or conduct of the selection, or may hold information about possible violations and abuse of office. The request is an allegation and a call for examination; the source reports no proven misconduct by the officers or by the other people named.
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Competition publisher | Finance Ministry |
| Selected candidate | Mantas Matulionis |
| Result timing | Summer |
| Appointment term | Five years |
| Former customs chief | Darius Žvironas |
| Review requested from | General Prosecutor’s Office |
| Additional inspection requested from | VIP Protection Service |
The adviser said the former prime minister gave no instructions concerning the Customs Department selection.
WHY IT MATTERS
Public-sector competitions create a defined route for appointing people to senior administrative posts: a ministry publishes the selection, a candidate is chosen and the term is set. When a participant in public life alleges that outside instructions influenced the result, the relevant oversight institutions can assess the information. In this case, the source records denials and requests for review, but no established finding of wrongdoing.
Reported from lrt.lt, 2026-10-14. The Tender Wire is published by Otnox.
