COBALT successfully defended the Mayor of Utena district in a resonant case

COBALT successfully defended the Mayor of Utena district Alvydas Katinas in a resonant case of great public interest. The mayor of Utena district had been accused of committing corruption crimes but the court ruling fully satisfied the appeal of Linas Kuprusevičius, a lawyer defending Alvydas Katinas, and the mayor was acquitted of all the charges against him.

Officials of the Panevėžys Board of the Special Investigation Service (SIS)have been trying to accuse the Mayor of Utena Alvydas Katinas of committing criminal offenses at least since 2013. Failing to gather any evidence of the mayor’s illegal influence on public procurement, in 2015 SIS expressed suspicions to Alvydas Katinas about assisting the former Prime Minister’s Secretariat in repairing a homestead in Utena district and accepting a bottle of alcohol from another Utena district resident. Although Alvydas Katinas and his lawyer tried to draw the attention of various institutions, including the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania, to the apparently illegal actions of pre-trial investigation officers and prosecutors in this case, the Panevėžys Regional Prosecutor’s Office referred the case to the court, and the Panevėžys Regional Court, acquitting the Mayor Alvydas Katinas for trading in influence, convicted him of abuse of office in helping to repair a homestead in the Utena district.

The Lithuanian Court of Appeal, which examined the case on appeal, fully acquitted Alvydas Katinas, recognizing that he had not committed any criminal acts.

COBALT Senior Associate Linas Kuprusevičius prepared procedural documents, provided legal advice to Alvydas Katinas, and represented the client’s interests during the pre-trial investigation and court proceedings.