On February 20, 2023, the Center of Investigative Journalism Siena released an investigation revealing that several companies from Lithuania, Belarus, and other countries are suspected of participating in sanctions evasion. As a result, the Prosecutor’s Office has initiated a pre-trial investigation into potential violations of sanctions.
Possible evasion of sanctions was performed by transporting Belarusian urea, which is produced solely by Grodno Azot, a company that is currently under European Union sanctions. The official documents related to the transported goods do not mention Grodno Azot, but the origin of the goods is evident given that the sanctioned company is the sole producer of urea.
Urea was transported by legal entities having characteristics of fictitious companies – registered addresses of the companies where in residential buildings or in locations where numerous offices are registered, offices where abandoned and postboxes empty, no one was replying to emails, answering to calls or if answered, the activities of the companies where not explained.
Evasion of sanctions is an illegal activity according to Article 4 (2) of the Republic of Lithuania Law on International Sanctions and other EU regulations. This violation may result in severe consequences, including sanctions, fines, revocation of licenses, arrest, incarceration, and other restrictive measures. Therefore, companies must perform thorough sanctions screening of their partners to reveal any direct or indirect links to sanctioned persons and to perform investigations on the origin of goods to avoid unknowing participation in sanction evasion schemes.
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