Lithuania Uncovered a Scheme to Circumvent Sanctions Against Russia

• 11 individuals were detained for their involvement in the scheme of supplying goods to Russia.
• The equipment was supplied with components from the EU and China.
• The operation was conducted in cooperation with European law enforcement agencies.

This was reported by Ukrinform, RBC Ukraine.

The Lithuanian customs service uncovered a large-scale scheme to circumvent international sanctions against Russia, in which 11 individuals participated. As reported by Euronews, the operation was organized by a company from Kaunas, which developed a complex scheme for supplying equipment for water purification to Russia.

The official supplier of the goods was a company from Portugal, but the actual delivery was carried out through Bulgaria to Turkey, from where the cargo was transported to Russia. The equipment, which was supplied with components from the EU and China, was intended for the maintenance of the Russian oil and gas industry.

As a result of the investigation, 11 individuals were detained, including executives of the company and leaders from Moldova and Bulgaria. During the searches, several tons of equipment valued at approximately 2 million euros were seized. Two shipments with this equipment were detained: one in Kaunas, and the other on the way to the Lithuanian-Polish border. A third shipment was stopped in Bulgaria.

The operation was conducted in cooperation with law enforcement agencies from Portugal and Bulgaria under the coordination of Eurojust and Europol. Searches also took place in these countries, including in Portugal at the address of a fictitious supplier and in Bulgaria at a warehouse where products from the Kaunas company were stored. The judicial investigation is ongoing under the supervision of the Kaunas District Prosecutor's Office.

It is noteworthy that in 2024 Lithuania had already uncovered a similar scheme related to the smuggling of goods to Russia for a sum of more than 2 million euros. In connection with this, the Lithuanian customs intensified control over shipments coming from Russia.

Tags: Europe/Crime