As of 2019, Lithuania is the thirteenth most corrupt EU country according to the rankings by Transparency International despite the substantial success in diminishing its levels over the past twenty years. On the other hand, the cases when anti-corruption laws are missing or not being enforced persist. In surveys of Lithuanian business executives 15% highlighted the corruption as a problem. There are conflicting accounts regarding the corruption perception by the society. A 2016 investigation by the Lithuanian government revealed that only 23% of Lithuanians would report corruption, and those who would not often believed that the corrupt individuals would not be punished. The same investigation from 2016 found that 73% of citizens experience identical or increased corruption levels compared to 5 years ago. An anti-corruption program was introduced by the Lithuanian government in 2011–2014. Society's trust in the political and legal system is low overall; a survey in 2015 showed that 25% of citizens trusted the Lithuanian legal system and 10% trusted the nationalparliament, the Seimas. An international Gallup study found that 90% of Lithuanians believe that corruption is widespread in Lithuania's government. Despite a solid judicial base, Lithuania’s law enforcement is very weak according to independent assessors.
Lobbying in Lithuania
A study by 15 min revealed that many lobbying organisations are using governmental real estate in prime locations at no cost. There is very little insight in the sector, as there are no reporting or control regulations. Lobbying is widely spread and particularly common in sectors related to energy, pharmaceuticals, construction, public healthcare and alcohol. Illegal conduct such as bribery is common. The Lithuanian parliament has been unwilling to regulate lobbying.
Nepotism
Nepotism is a very visible problem in Lithuanian society. It exists in all levels of society and especially in the public sector. The Lithuanian language even has an expression about nepotism: "Lietuva yra giminių kraštas". An investigation by Kauno diena found tens of municipality positions filled based on friendships or kinship. At least a quarter of employees of Marijampolė municipality have relatives filling local governmental jobs. There is little in the way of punishment for nepotism. In a 2016 study by STT, nearly half of public officials claimed that they have experienced pressure to employ somebody based on their political party membership. A politician of a small village bragged on her Facebook profile about ability to get jobs based on her political connections. Loreta Graužinienė, a former speaker of the parliament, gave her hairdresser's daughter a job in the parliament. Member of the parliament Greta Kildišienė employed her photographer in the parliament. When Lietuvos rytas investigated the issue, it turned out that the photographer was receiving a salary, but nobody in the parliament knew who she was, what she did, and had not seen her. Parliamentarian Kestutis Pukas employed his lawyer's wife as his advisor. The vice minister of Ministry of Social Security and Labour arranged employments in Prienai public retirement home for many of her close relatives. A 15 min study discovered that one in six employees of Registrų centras are relatives. Another study by Delfi found that 34% of employees of Kauno regiono keliai are relatives. The entire construction and road public sector was highly influenced by nepotism. The internal audit of public road builder "Automagistralė" revealed that some of the work was done in order to benefit the CEO, e.g. to build his mother's house. Nepotism bands are also prevalent between public entities and their partners and suppliers in the private sector, which increases risk for corruption in public procurement. The high percentage of unofficial and unannounced public procurement tenders is another contributing factor – the percentage of unannounced public procurement contracts in Lithuania is 5 times above the EU average. When Lithuanian Railways investigated a possible damage of 5 million euros through procurement contracts, they discovered that 40% of employees had close kinship bands to suppliers and partners. Suppliers and partners with kinship bands to Lithuanian Railways employees were consistently promoted and prioritized. Many of the public procurement scandals revolving about inflated prices involved nepotism – Šilainių hospital contracts, Kaunas prison contracts, the many scandals surrounding Gintautas Kėvišas family, etc.
In May 2016, the Masiulis alcohol box money case shook Lithuania. Eligijus Masiulis, leader of the Liberal Movement, a prominent political party in Lithuania, was arrested with 106 thousand euros in cash stuffed into an alcoholic beverage box. Bribery suspicions initiated a criminal investigation. MG Baltic, a Lithuanian investment firm, is suspected of giving the bribe. During a house search, another 250 thousand euros in cash were found in Masiulis apartment. In September 2017, the Liberal Movement and Labour Party were additionally named as suspects in the continuing investigation. As of November 2017, no charges have been pressed against Masiulis.
In 2009, the municipality of Kaunas converted a shipping container into an outdoor toilet at a cost of 500,000 litas. It also required 5,000 LTL in monthly maintenance costs. At the same time when Kaunas "golden toilet" was built, Kėdainiai tennis club made a very similar, but more advanced solution for 4,500 EUR. Because of the inflated cost, Kaunas outdoor toilet was nicknamed "golden toilet". Despite the heavy expenditure, the "golden toilet" was dysfunctional and remained closed for years. It was subject of a lengthy anti-corruption investigation. The municipality even considered demolishing the building. In 2012, public servants involved in the toilet's procurement received prison sentences for recklessness, malfeasance, misuse of power and document falsifications. In 2014, all public servants suspected of corruption were cleared of charges and received compensations, which pushed the total construction cost to 352,000 euros.
