As reported by the General Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday, after the customs forensic experts submitted a legal assessment regarding the media investigation, a decision was made to start a pre-trial investigation regarding the violation of international sanctions or restrictions established by Lithuanian laws.
The Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to BNS that a pre-trial investigation has been started regarding the export of “Plunge Cooperative Trade”.
This company is managed by “Vičiūņu grupė”, which is equally owned by V. Matijošaitis and his business partner Liudus Skier.
According to the prosecutor’s office, it was decided to start a pre-trial investigation after the law enforcement officers analyzed the publicized information that the Plunge company was possibly transporting sanctioned goods to Russia. In 2022-2023, the company could transport dual-purpose goods and thereby violate international sanctions or restrictive measures introduced by the country.
Customs criminalists began investigating a possible violation of international sanctions on Tuesday, after the LRT Investigation Department announced that “Plunge cooperative trade” had transported sanctioned goods to Russia at least 11 times since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
According to journalists, five times the sanctioned goods were shipped to Russia after their specific codes were added to the European Union (EU) sanctions lists, such as bearings used by Russia in the production of tanks, as well as other dual-use goods.
“Vičiūnai grupė” admitted that it transported such goods, but testified that it was not aware of the sanctions. According to the company, this technical export was stopped as soon as it became aware of the restrictions, and an internal investigation was launched.
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2024-04-12 22:11:13