In a recent decision, the judges of the Supreme Court of Lithuania gave a guilty verdict to Russian citizen Rinat Nasyrov for involvement in illegal activities related to influence trading.
The case concerned Nasyrov’s efforts in 2019, during which, as a shareholder in a Russian bank, he allegedly sought to secure multiple Schengen visas through bribery, both for himself and his son, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
According to the details disclosed by the prosecution, on March 1, 2022, the District Court of Vilnius issued a guilty verdict against Rinat Nasyrov. It also imposed a heavy fine of €13,700 as the final punishment.
The court evaluated the prosecution’s appeal, presented by the General Prosecutor’s Office, as worthy.
Supreme Court Affirms Conviction of Russian Citizen in Influence Peddling Case
As local media reports, the Vilnius District Court, which heard the case on appeal, issued a judgment on June 7 2023, acquitting Nasyrov because he had not committed an act amounting to a crime or a misdemeanour.
The prosecutor of the Organized Crime and Corruption Investigation Department of the General Prosecutor’s Office, who supervised the preliminary investigations and supported the state’s case, disagreed with this decision. Consequently, they filed a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court of Lithuania.
Officers of the Special Investigation Service carried out the preliminary investigations on this matter. After reviewing the criminal case in the cassation procedure, the Supreme Court of Lithuania affirmed that the first instance court reasonably considered the evidence gathered during the preliminary investigations and based its decision on it.
Based on the final and definitive decision of the Supreme Court of Lithuania, the Russian citizen remains convicted of influence peddling and is obliged to pay the fine imposed by the court of first instance.
Lithuania Tightens Restrictions for Russians & Belarusians
On April 4, 2023, Lithuania passed a law making it more difficult for people from Russia and Belarus to get visas, buy property or apply for residency in Lithuania. The law will be in force until May 3, 2024.
Before that, Lithuania had already banned people from Russia and Belarus from applying for visas when the war in Ukraine started in February 2022. On the other hand, in 2022, more people from Russia and Belarus moved to Lithuania than in 2021. For example, almost 4,000 Russian citizens applied for residence permits, twice as many as in 2021.
