“The VSD submitted conclusions to the Migration Department regarding the activities of 22 Belarusian citizens in Lithuania – individuals working in a technology company were declared a threat to Lithuania’s national security. Their temporary residence permits in Lithuania were revoked,” the VSD announced on the social network “Facebook” on Monday.
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It is announced that individuals posing a threat to national security have been expelled from Lithuania, with a ban on return applied. All 22 individuals are subject to a five-year ban on entering the Schengen area.
The expelled citizens worked in a company involved in a project of the European Union Space Programme Agency (EUSPA) and fraudulently obtained nearly 0.5 million euros.
15min already found out in December that the company is “NTLAB.” It had signed a contract with the European Space Agency for the development of a high-quality navigation device intended for precision agriculture purposes.
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During the investigation organized by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, carried out by the Financial Crime Investigation Service in cooperation with the VSD, it was established that the company concealed ties with the Russian and Belarusian military industry.
Last week it was reported that the Vilnius District Court sentenced two Belarusian citizens for fraud involving nearly 0.5 million euros.
The mentioned project was aimed at creating high-precision satellite navigation receivers capable of using the “Galileo” high-precision service for agricultural purposes, including the management of agricultural machinery and precision farming operations.
The total project budget amounted to more than 1 million euros, of which more than 745 thousand euros were funded by EUSPA. The company was actually paid 447,272 euros.
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