Lithuania freezing assets linked to Russian oligarchs

Mykolas Majauskas, chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance, has told BNS that eleven companies and five individuals have been sanctioned in Lithuania since February 24, when Russia attacked its neighbor.

A total of 3.224 million euros, 1.368 million US dollars (1.248 million euros) and 645,000 rubles (4,800 euros) have been frozen in Lithuanian banks so far.

"The responsible authorities continue to work intensively in cooperation with international partners to ensure that the sanctions are applied on the territory of Lithuania in a principled manner and to the full extent," Majauskas told BNS.

According to the MP, the sanctions cover three EU-sanctioned Russian oligarchs linked to the military industry: Rostec Corporation CEO Sergei Chemezov; Alexei Mordashov, CEO of the mining and steel company Severstal, and a shareholder of Lenta and the TUI tour operator, and Andrei Melnichenko, a fertilizer and coal magnate.

Majauskas said he had no information on whether all the natural and legal persons sanctioned in Lithuania were linked to these oligarchs.

The MP did not name any companies or individuals sanctioned in Lithuania.

It is not clear how specifically Chemezov and Mordashov are linked to Lithuanian companies.

The media have reported that Avia Solutions Group, an aviation business group owned by Lithuanian businessman Gediminas Ziemelis, cooperated with Chemezov's Rostec in the construction of an airport in Moscow.

Lithuania's charter services provider GetJet Airline has already announced that it is ending its cooperation with TUI Baltics, which is linked to Mordashov.

AIM Capital, a Cypriot company controlled by Melnichenko, holds 90 percent of shares in Swiss-registered EuroChem Group, the owner of Lithuania's phosphate fertilizer manufacturer Lifosa.

The Lithuanian company has recently asked for the state's help, saying it is unable to meet its obligations after its bank accounts were frozen last week.

EuroChem Group said on March 10 that Melnichenko had resigned from its board of directors as of March 9, and that he was no longer the group's main beneficiary.