From & nbspEuronews
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The customs authorities of Lithuania announced the arrest of 11 people who was suspected of violating the regime of international sanctions against Russia.
As indicated in the announcement, a “especially bold plan for bypassing international sanctions against Russia” was revealed.
The operation was carried out in cooperation with the competent authorities in Portugal and Bulgaria and in coordination with Eurojust and Europol.
According to the survey, the company based in Kaunas has developed a difficult plan for sending water treatment equipment to use Russian enterprises in the oil industry.
The official client and recipient of the products was a company from Portugal. Nevertheless, the products were transferred to Bulgaria, where they were supposed to be delivered to Turkey, and then to Russia.
“Equipment for water purification was designed, assembled and manufactured by components of the EU and China. This equipment was intended for specific industrial facilities in Russia. The company itself, based in Kaunas, which maintains close and constant relations with economic organizations operating in Russia, participated in the official announcement.
Eleven employees of the Lithuanian company were arrested, including its director, as well as drivers who are silent and Bulgarian citizens. During the investigation, several tons of equipment worth about 2 million euros were seized. Two trucks with the aforementioned equipment were also seized: one in Kaunas, and the other on the way to the Lithuanian police border. The third load was captured in Bulgaria.
After the interrogation, the suspects were released, two of them were introduced by limiting measures of the ban on leaving the country.
In cooperation with the Portuguese and Bulgarian police authorities in these countries, investigations were conducted. In Portugal, in a fictitious recipient of filtration equipment and in Bulgaria in the product terminal, in a warehouse where the company’s products from Kaunas are stored.
A preliminary ruling investigation of violations of international sanctions, which is carried out by the regional prosecutor’s office of Kaun, continues.