Lithuania stops multi-country scheme circumventing sanctions against Russia

This was reported by Euronews, according to Ukrinform.

The operation was conducted in cooperation with law enforcement agencies in Portugal and Bulgaria, and in coordination with Europol and Eurojust.

According to the investigation, a company from Kaunas, owned by the suspects, developed a complex shadow scheme to supply water purification equipment to Russia, which was in fact used by Russian oil industry enterprises.

The formal customer and recipient of the Lithuanian company’s goods was a company in Portugal. However, the goods were actually transported to Bulgaria, then sent to Turkey, and finally delivered to Russia.

"The water purification equipment was designed, assembled and manufactured from components produced in the EU and China. This equipment was intended for specific industrial facilities in Russia. The Kaunas company itself, which has close and permanent relations with economic entities operating in Russia, actively participated in projects realised in Russia. One of such projects is related to a Russian group of companies, which is among the world's fastest growing petrochemical companies," the official statement said.

As a result, 11 employees of the Kaunas-based firm, including its executives, as well as drivers who are citizens of Moldova and Bulgaria, were detained. During searches, several tons of equipment worth approximately €2 million were seized. Two trucks carrying the equipment were also detained: one in Kaunas, the other en route to the Lithuanian-Polish border. A third shipment was seized in Bulgaria. After questioning, the suspects were released, with two of them subjected to pretrial measures — a written obligation not to leave the country.

In cooperation with Portuguese and Bulgarian authorities, searches were also conducted in those countries: in Portugal at the fictitious recipient of the filtration equipment, and in Bulgaria at the cargo terminal – the warehouse storing the Kaunas company’s products. The pretrial investigation into the violation of international sanctions, led by the Kaunas Regional Prosecutor’s Office, is ongoing.

As reported, in 2024 Lithuania uncovered a large-scale scheme violating international sanctions and smuggling goods to Russia worth nearly €2 million. Following that, Lithuanian customs announced it would strengthen controls on shipments traveling by train from Russia to prevent transportation of items intended for the Russian armed forces.