By David Barry 

A pre-trial investigation 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.

The “case” started because a Member of the European Parliament Petras Gražulis applied to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania, requesting an assessment of the activities of former President of the Constitutional Court and current Member of the European Parliament Dainius Žalimas, related to the public institution “Centre for Law and Democracy” founded by him.

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 Dr. 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 thousand euros in 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 thousand 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 say they 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 the legislation;

whether there is a basis to initiate a more detailed investigation into the possible misuse of funds.

In his appeal, Mr. 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.

The 4th of May, 10 Lithuanian MEPs as part of the so called Forum of Democratic Forces of Belarus has sent a request for investigation to the EU Parliament under the title ” request for enquiry regarding the transparency and use of EU funds.