Balčiūnas also denies having taken a bribe.
"It was an investment made by the federation to settle the last problem, which jeopardized the whole (European Basketball) championship, as failure to come up with money for reconstruction of the hotel would raise a big question about the purpose of building the arena in Panevėžys and about the venue for the championship (…). This is the reason why the public decision was made – the federation's investment in the hotel," Balčiūnas told Lietuvos Ryto television on Sunday.
He emphasized that the use of money was regulated in a contract, which "clearly stipulated where the money could be spent, and the money was spent specifically for these purposes."
Balčiūnas maintained he was mostly baffled by the fact that a public move made a few years ago was now treated as a major crime.
"The problem has to do different interpretation of the situation. The situation was not caused by the available information but by the lack of information," he said.
The suspended secretary general said he could not reveal the specific bribery suspicions but denied having accepted money from anyone.
"It is my belief it was not a bribe, I have something to justify this with, I know what happened when and under what circumstances. I think the situation will be cleared up," Balčiūnas said.
He confirmed that the authorities seized a few dozen thousand litas from his home during a search. In his words, the money was his personal savings.
Panevėžys prosecutors, in cooperation with officers of the Special Investigation Service, are carrying out an investigation into jobbery, fraud, and document forgery as part of the probe into legitimacy of spending of municipal money for reconstruction of the Romantic Hotel. The hotel in Panevėžys was chosen to accomodate players and gueasts during 2011 Eurpean Basketball Championship hosted by Lithuania.
The prosecutors suspect there may have been a plan before the championship to unlawfully reconstruct the hotel owned by Via Unica company for the municipality's money.
Balčiūnas was detained in the framework of the investigation on January 7 along with Darius Šimėnas, adviser to Panevėžys mayor, and Romantic Hotel owner Dalia Kuklierienė. Suspicions were brought against Panevėžys Mayor Vitalijus Satkevičius.
Last week, a Panevėžys court issued a 20-day arrest warrant for Balčiūnas, while Šimėnas and Kuklierienė were put in custody for a month each. Another Panevėžys court ruled last Thursday that Balčiūnas' detention was ungrounded but decided to suspend him from office for three months and put under house arrest for six months.
