In Lithuania there is a case of growing concern to European offices there and in Brussels. On May 4, 10 Lithuanian Members of the European Parliament, as part of the so-called “Forum of Democratic Forces of Belarus,” sent a request for investigation to the EU Parliament under the title: “Request for enquiry regarding the transparency and use of EU funds.”
The letter states, “Numerous examples of mismanagement have emerged; for instance, it recently became public knowledge that the former speaker of the so-called Coordination Council of Belarus, created at the initiative of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, misappropriated 200,000 euros, returned to Minsk, and purchased luxury apartments.”
Now the result is a pre-trial investigation that has been entrusted to the Special Investigations Board of the Financial Crimes Investigation Service, and the investigation is led by the Criminal Prosecution Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Officially the “case” began when Member of the European Parliament, Petras Gražulis, who applied to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania. He requested an assessment of the activities of Dainius Žalimas — former President of the Constitutional Court and current Member of the European Parliament — related to the public institution “Centre for Law and Democracy” that Žalimas founded.
The request, submitted in Brussels on May 6, 2026, states that representatives of the Belarusian Democratic Forum — the Chairman of the organization’s board, former candidate for president of Belarus Valeriy Tsepkalo, and Secretary General Dmitry Bolkunets — approached Gražulis.
The information they provided raises questions about the potentially opaque and inappropriate use of almost 200,000 euros in EU funding in 2021–2025.
According to the applicants, the public institution headed by D. Žalimas declared its activities in the field of human rights and democracy in Belarus, but, according to them, there are no clearly visible and tangible results of such activities.
The appeal notes that the organization, as publicly announced, had only one employee, and its declared annual income amounted to more than 26,000 euros. It also draws attention to the fact that the organization’s website is currently no longer accessible, and the institution itself has been liquidated.
Representatives of the Belarusian Democratic Forum doubt whether the allocated funds were actually used for the declared purposes. In their opinion, questions arise about the effectiveness of the projects, the proportionality of the results, and the possible imitation of activities.
The applicants ask the prosecutor’s office to clarify whether the funds allocated to support democracy and human rights in Belarus were used for their intended purpose; what specific results were achieved; whether the funding was used efficiently and in accordance with legislation; and whether there is a basis to initiate a more detailed investigation into the possible misuse of funds.
In his appeal, Gražulis asks the Prosecutor General’s Office to assess the situation from the perspective of protecting the public interest and to determine whether there are any possible violations of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania.
“We believe that it is indecent for any organization or individual to profit from the suffering of the Belarusian people,” the Belarusian Democratic Forum said in a statement.
Along with the request, the financial and operational reports of the public institution “Center for Justice and Democracy” and other related materials were submitted to the prosecutor’s office.
So far, neither Dainius Žalimas nor law enforcement agencies have publicly commented on the situation.
Even Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda is concerned about this case, he says that the accusations made by politicians and public figures against MEP Dainis Žalimas regarding the use of EU support for the Belarusian opposition are serious. However, for now, the head of state said to be waiting for the conclusions of the pre-trial investigation launched by the Prosecutor General’s Office.
“I believe that the services must do their job first, so I forwarded this open letter to the Prosecutor General’s Office. The Prosecutor General’s Office has launched a pre-trial investigation. The accusations are serious, especially since they are directed at our MEP, Mr. Žalimas,” the head of state told reporters in an interview.
“And that’s why today I will refrain from making any personal assessments. Let’s wait until the investigation is completed to see what the next steps will be. “We will see all of this, and only then will we be able to provide a political assessment,” the President emphasized.