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Lithuania's ruling coalition party suspected of selling influence, money laundering

Xinhua, December 31, 2015 Adjust font size:

Lithuania's Special Investigation Service (SIS) brought corruption charges against the Order and Justice party, a member of the ruling coalition on Wednesday.

The party is suspected of selling influence and money laundering, the SIS announced in its statement.

According to the authority, the allegations follow an investigation which began in late 2014. During the investigation, 12 suspects were questioned.

"The investigation generated sufficient data to suspect that criminal deeds were committed with the goal of unlawful gain for the party," said SIS in the statement.

According to the service, the party is suspected of taking bribes worth around 377,000 euros (411,252.42 U.S dollars) in exchange for promises in public procurement processes.

The investigation led to the resignation of Dailis Alfonsas Barakauskas, the interior minister, and a member of the Order and Justice party a year ago.

Rolandas Paksas, the leader of Order and Justice party and impeached Lithuanian President, sees the allegations as politically motivated.

In 2004, Paksas was impeached and barred by the Constitutional Court from running for any elected office. However, last week, the Seimas, Lithuanian parliament, passed a resolution advocating his rehabilitation.

The Order and Justice party is a member of the ruling coalition party led by the Social Democratic Party. Endit