Lithuanian media is claiming fraud orchestrated by Azerbaijan to take a top spot in the Eurovision Song Contest.
A news agency said it had videotaped a meeting where two Russian-speaking men offered money to Lithuanians for their votes in favour of the Azerbaijan contestant. A group of students also claimed to have been approached by men who offered them €20 each to vote multiple times for a contestant.
Those recruited were given SIM-cards to vote as many times as possible within 15 minutes. A supervisor was assigned to every group to check the results and give the payment.
Azerbaijan got 12 points from Lithuania.
Austria, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Ireland, Malta, Montenegro and Russia also gave Azerbaijan the highest points.