Antanas Montvydas, deputy director of the State Border Guard Service, has been appointed in Gailius' stead, as interim FCIS head.
Last week, Palaitis expressed no-confidence in both Gailius and Giržadas. Initially, the no-confidence was extended to Giržadas only, due to unfavorable results of a repeated polygraph test, also known as lie detector test. The minister stated lack of confidence in Gailius after the latter stated support to his deputy, regardless of the minister's position.
Both officials have been tested on the polygraph in the past.
According to information available to BNS, the polygraph tests were related to an investigation into the leak of information about bankruptcy of Snoras bank and suspicions about how Snoras' shareholders received information on planned law-enforcement actions last November.
Previously on Wednesday, Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said he had't yet received any information that would cast doubts upon operations of the Financial Crime Investigation Service or its director Vitalijus Gailius.
"I haven't received any classified or public information that would serve as grounds for doubting the activities of FCIS or its director. I expect to be informed in a due manner," Kubilius told BNS on Wednesday.
Interim head apointed
Antanas Montvydas, deputy director of the State Border Guard Service, has been appointed as acting head of Lithuania's Financial Crime Investigation Service, Interior Minister Raimundas Palaitis said on Wednesday.
"I want to emphasize that it is an entirely temporary position because we will organize a competition for the director's post as soon as possible. Designating a person from FCIS on a temporary basis is not rational for the following reason – over the years, the structure has been managed in a way that it functions well and removal of any chain from the structure would affect work. Therefore, I think it is necessary to take a person from another service who would not be related with FCIS," Palaitis told journalists on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the interim FCIS head said continuity of operations was his priority.
"I have been appointed to the position in line with the minister's decree and I will follow it. My duty as the acting head of FCIS is to ensure efficient operations of the service and guarantee continuity. This is what I will do," Montvydas told BNS.
Has political backing
Lithuanian Minister of Internal Affairs Raimundas Palaitis said on Wednesday he was feeling political support after sacking director of the Financial Crime Investigation Service, Vitalijus Gailius, and his deputy Vytautas Girzadas.
"Today I care about interests of the State of Lithuania and its people. And political issues should be settled by leaders of the coalition parties," Palaitis told reporters on Wednesday, after being asked if there were disagreements between Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius and him.
"Are there differences of opinion? The prime minister said the FCIS works fine, and I say that the FCIS works fine. There are almost 500 people at the FCIS, and not its two chiefs," Palaitis said.
The minister said "yes" when asked if he felt he had political backing and was capable of continuing working normally.
Asked whether the decision on the former FCIS chiefs had been coordinated with the President's Office, Palaitis said: "Pursuant to laws, it's my decision." But he added the issue had been discussed with the president unofficially "more than once."
In the minister's words, information which led him to canceling permits for the two top leaders of the FCIS to work with classified information could be provided to other people only upon consent of the State Security Department.
Pressure
The sacked director Vitalijus Gailius and his deputy Vytautas Giržadas said on Wednesday they planned to appeal against the internal affairs minister's decision to dismiss them.
"I will appeal against this order as illegal and incompatible with the laws of the Republic of Lithuania I respect, and I do believe I am right in this case," Gailius said at a press conference, adding he is convinced he will be reinstated.
"I was subjected to political pressure to dismiss my deputy (Vytautas Giržadas)" Gailius said at during the press conference.
"I had no information on his offences or any other information that would give me the basis not to trust this officer," the ex-FCIS chief said.
Asked whether President Dalia Grybauskaitė exerted any pressure on him to sack Giržadas, Gailius responded: "I would like to refrain from answering this."
"First of all, of course, there has been pressure. I know this directly from by supervisor. There has been pressure from those who say that what happened today is right," Giržadas added.
He said he believed in FCIS officers who would continue undergoing investigations into activities of energy and utility companies as well as actions of enterprises related to political parties.
"I believe they will continue with their investigations into monopolized energy and utility companies operating in Lithuania. Large-scale fraud cases have been detected, money is being cashed, and we know what they will soon be used for," the ex-officer said.
"Investigations are also underway into the most generous party sponsors, businesses that win public procurements bids worth almost 2 billion, up to 500 times over the period of two years, with the majority of them funded from the EU and state budgets," Gailius said.
He also implied that heads of other law enforcement institutions might be subjected to pressure just as he was.
"I believe that I am being used as an example for heads of other statutory institutions that those disobeying will face new measures. I am not aware of previous cases when such decisions were made without an internal investigation, and no internal investigation against me has been carried out," Gailius said.
