LAWIN partner Dr. Jaunius Gumbis selected as the sole expert in Lithuania for a unique European Commission project regarding corruption in the private sector

In February 2012, the Dutch institute, T.M.C. Asser, selected Dr. Jaunius Gumbis, partner of LAWIN law firm, as the sole expert in Lithuania to conduct a study of the national legal regulation of corruption, and conduct a scientific evaluation of the efficiency of current anti-corruption programmes in Lithuania. This project was initiated after it was established that corruption crimes ever more frequently occur in the private sector, i.e. in the relationship between business interests and other private persons. The most frequent examples of such crimes are the establishment of legal entities for the purpose of receiving illegal financial and economic benefits, money laundering and misappropriation of company funds. VAT embezzlement is also occurring more often and most frequently appears at the international level through the abuse of the open market (free establishment in all EU Members States, free movement of goods and services). These offences are harmful for both the EU inner market and its financial system. The investigation of international offences in the private sector and determination of responsibility is aggravated by different regulation of these processes in civil, administrative and criminal law in different Member States, for example, different terms for case investigation and hearing procedures, different subjects of responsibility (companies, their managers and/or employees who committ illegal acts). LAWIN partner Dr. Jaunius Gumbis states that the purpose of this unique project is to measure the level of regulation of crimes related to corruption and organised crime in every Member State; study the compatibility of national standards of law with international legal acts; identify investigation and evidence collection problems occurring in practice; and define the limits of responsibility for companies, and their managers and employees, that are accused of corruption, bribery, money laundering, tax evasion and other corruption related crimes. "Up until now, all the attention of theorists and practitioners has been paid to examine corruption crimes only in the public sector, and insufficient attention has been paid to corruption in the private sector, which is banned by both Lithuanian and EU legal acts. The boundary between what is legal and illegal is very vague; thus, it is very important to separate the public and private sectors and to ensure legal certainty for both businesses and their monitoring institutions. The acquired knowledge from this study will help our team of experts to consult representatives of businesses even more efficiently so that they know how to behave in everyday business situations (e.g., presenting business gifts, communicating with both public servants and business partners) in order to avoid groundless responsibility", Dr. Gumbis said. The study, which lasted for more than two months, included analysis of different national strategies, corruption fighting guidelines and means in the public sector, possibilities of information collection and exchange between national institutions and their integration, the promotion of whistle-blowing by private entities to provide information about potential crimes and existing possibilities for businesses to receive consultations on corruption prevention issues. The study also closely looked at courts’ practice and future trends. This project – Prevention of Fraud, Corruption and Bribery Offences Committed by Legal Entities which Seek Financial and Economic Benefit – was initiated by the European Commission and transferred to the T.M.C. Asser Institute for implementation. The T.M.C. Asser Institute was founded in 1965 in The Hague and is well-known as a professional inter-university knowledge and research centre which conducts studies in the fields of public international law, EU legislation and others. Academics from the T.M.C. Asser Institute, International and EU Law Centre, very positively spoke about the contributions of LAWIN’S experts – Partner, Dr. Jaunius Gumbis and lawyers, Rūta Pumputienė, Liudas Karnickas and Edvinas Meškys – to this project. They emphasised that the analysis of Lithuanian laws and legal practices was very thorough and met the highest standards expected in such studies, and the solutions offered would be very beneficial for the development of EU regulations. The decision to choose Dr. Gumbis as the sole national expert in Lithuania was made on the basis of his extensive experience in consulting business clients in their relationship with state institutions, public servants and other private business entities, especially in projects where business entities exchange property and other benefits. Another important aspect for the selection of Dr. Gumbis was his broad academic knowledge and experience in teaching and conducting studies in Lithuanian and foreign universities. About LAWIN LAWIN - internationally highest ranked business law firm in the Baltics - was launched in 2004 by Lepik & Luhaaar (Estonia), Klavins & Slaidins (Latvia) and Lideika, Petrauskas, Valiunas ir partneriai (Lithuania) - the leading law firms in each jurisdiction since their foundation in the beginning of the 1990‘s. With over 140 legal professionals working in five practice groups, LAWIN is ideally positioned to provide the highest caliber, specialized legal services both domestically and on a Pan-Baltic dimension. More information: www.lawin.com