In Lithuania, a large-scale scheme to bypass international sanctions, allowing the supply of prohibited goods, including weapons, to Russia and Belarus, has been uncovered. The scheme involved a Vilnius-based company providing logistics, transportation, and forwarding services.
This was reported by the Lithuanian Customs Service.
Raids took place on April 10 at the company's offices, as well as at the homes of its leaders and employees. The operation involved officers from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). As a result, two trucks with potentially sanctioned goods, 100,000 euros in cash, as well as weapons, ammunition, and explosives were seized. Their origin and intended use are currently being verified by experts.
According to the investigation, the company set up logistics to ensure that sanctioned goods were first sent to Central Asian countries, primarily Kyrgyzstan, and from there, they made their way to Russia. Additionally, the company helped other market participants use this scheme.
The total value of the seized sanctioned goods is approximately 1.5 million euros. The director and owner of the company were arrested but released after interrogation under a travel ban. Similar measures were taken for three other employees of the company.
Lithuanian authorities have opened a criminal case under the violation of international sanctions. The Customs Service emphasized that the supplies were circumventing the strict restrictions imposed by the European Union on Russia and Belarus due to the war in Ukraine. Among the seized weapons, preliminary data suggests there may be Western-made anti-tank weapons.
