FAQ

You can contact FCIS:

General email: dokumentas[@]fntt.lt 

General phone number (8 5) 271 7594

Trust phone number (8 5) 271 6694

FCIS discloses and investigates criminal activities, detrimental to the State budget, as well as irregularities related to the receiving and use of financial support funds from EU and other countries. Criminal activities resulting in financial damage for a person are investigated by other law enforcement institutions.

Foreigners in the Republic of Lithuania must comply with the laws of the Republic of Lithuania, including the Law on International Sanctions of the Republic of Lithuania, as well as with the requirements of directly applicable legal acts of the European Union establishing international sanctions. All persons in the Republic of Lithuania must implement and comply with international sanctions, take actions necessary to implement these sanctions, and refrain from any actions that would violate or circumvent the prohibitions and restrictions established by international sanctions.

International sanctions established by the European Union regulations are implemented in the Republic of Lithuania, including:

- individual sanctions against Russia established by Council Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of 17 March 2014 269/2014: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02014R0269-20251023;

- sectoral sanctions against Russia imposed by Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 of 31 July 2014: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02014R0833-20251024;

- individual and sectoral sanctions against Belarus imposed by Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 of 18 May 2006: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02006R0765-20251024.

The prohibitions established by the aforementioned regulations include the freezing of funds and economic resources of sanctioned persons, prohibitions on concluding certain transactions, providing financial and other services, as well as prohibitions on the sale, supply, transfer or export of goods specified in the regulations and the provision of related technical assistance.

The lists of sanctioned entities also include certain Russian and Belarusian banks (e.g., Russian banks VTB bank, Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, T-Bank, Belarusian banks Belagroprombank, Bank Dabrabyt). Using the services of banks subject to the freezing of funds and economic resources or other direct prohibitions may be considered a violation of international sanctions, except in cases where exceptions provided for in the regulations apply.

In view of this, foreigners in the Republic of Lithuania must assess whether a specific bank or other person with whom transactions are concluded and carried out is not sanctioned, and ensure that their actions do not contradict international sanctions implemented in the Republic of Lithuania. Violations of international sanctions are subject to liability provided for by law.

The lists of sanctioned persons are provided in the aforementioned regulations, these data are periodically updated. Information about sanctioned persons is publicly available. Useful link: https://www.sanctionsmap.eu/#/main (search for sanctioned persons). A search is possible in open sources that provide information about sanctioned persons, e.g. https://www.opensanctions.org/research/.

Information about international financial sanctions applied in Lithuania is provided here.

Natural and legal persons who, in accordance with the requirements of the legislation on international sanctions, have restricted the disposal of funds or economic resources of entities, must inform the Service within2 working days.

Legal persons and other organisations without legal personality shall inform the Service of the fact that they are owned or controlled by financially sanctioned entities, as well as of the fact that a legal person or other organisation without legal personality is owned or controlled by financially sanctioned entities, within 2 working days from the date of becoming aware of such information.

Information is available at [email protected]. 

Article 7(1) of the Republic of Lithuania Law on International Sanctions (hereinafter - the Law) stipulates that it is prohibited to enter into transactions and to assume new obligations, the performance of which is contrary to the international sanctions implemented in the Republic of Lithuania - such transactions shall be null and void.

It is prohibited to carry out transactions and obligations during the period of implementation of international sanctions, the performance of which contradicts the international sanctions implemented in the Republic of Lithuania (Article 7(2) of the Law).

Transactions entered into and obligations incurred before the implementation of international sanctions in the Republic of Lithuania must be terminated immediately, unilaterally or by agreement of the parties, or suspended during the period of implementation of international sanctions (Article 7(3) of the Law).

Thus, under the current legal framework, international sanctions are binding on all natural and legal persons, including financial market participants, and prior authorisation from the competent authority is required to enter into a transaction with a sanctioned entity.

The Service is a law enforcement authority, but its functions do not include the interpretation/assessment of civil contracts or the assessment of civil liability issues. It does not evaluate agreements concluded by natural or legal persons, their content, nor does it take decisions on the enforceability or termination of transactions.

Article 109 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania provides that justice in the Republic of Lithuania shall be administered only by the courts. The judge and the courts shall be independent in the administration of justice, and judges shall only obey the law when hearing cases.

Article 9(1) of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Courts stipulates that final judgments of the courts of the Republic of Lithuania shall be binding on all public authorities, officials and employees, enterprises, institutions, organisations, other legal and natural persons and shall be enforceable throughout the territory of the Republic of Lithuania.

Therefore, in the light of the foregoing, it can be concluded that all natural and legal persons implement international sanctions independently, the Service decides on the granting of exemptions or waivers from the restrictions and obligations laid down in the legislation establishing international sanctions and carries out all the procedures necessary for that purpose. The Service shall not pronounce on the content or the enforcement of judicial decisions. In the case of a court decision, the authorisation of the Service is not required.

Yes. Please note that the Council Regulations prohibit knowingly and intentionally engaging in activities the object or effect of which is to circumvent restrictive measures (sanctions).

Article 13(1) of the Republic of Lithuania Law on International Sanctions stipulates that natural and legal persons shall be held liable for violations of international sanctions in accordance with the procedure established by this Law and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania.

Point 10 of the Description of the Procedure for the Implementation of International Sanctions, approved by Resolution No 535 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 25 May 2022, provides that natural and legal persons who, in accordance with the requirements of legal acts establishing international sanctions, have restricted the disposal of funds or economic resources of entities or have received information on funds and economic resources that should have been frozen by natural and legal persons obliged to do so, shall inform the Service within 2 working days.

Financial institutions and other obliged entities are also obliged to report suspicious monetary operations or transactions, including possible breaches of sanctions, under the Republic of Lithuania Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Article 16).

In the event of irregularities relating to breaches of international sanctions, the company must submit a notification to the Service by email to [email protected] after performing an internal investigation.

Notification of circumvention of sanctions shall be submitted to the Service in free form by e-mail to [email protected]. Notifications of circumvention of sanctions shall be made as soon as possible after completion of internal investigation.

The European Commission’s interpretations on the implementation of the Council Regulations can be found at: https://finance.ec.europa.eu/publications/consolidated-version_en. Please note that the European Commission’s interpretations are updated regularly.

It should be pointed out that sanctioning may be applied in two ways: (1) by inclusion in the list provided for in the Annex to the Regulation, or (2) by establishing that the undertakings are owned, managed or controlled by persons included in the said list.

The case-law holds that the mere fact that a person is not formally listed on the sanctions lists does not mean that he or she will not be subject to the sanctions regime, but that a listed person may de facto stand behind him or her. A contrary interpretation of the law would mean that the sanctions would become ineffective, as the establishment of a “letterbox company”, which is formally unrelated to the real owner and/or beneficiary, would be sufficient to circumvent them (paragraph 33 of Ruling of the Supreme Court of Lithuania in Civil Case No 3K-3-255-611/2022).

Thus, in each case, it is necessary to make sure that the person is not managed/controlled by an authorised person. For more information, see the European Commission’s interpretations (https://finance.ec.europa.eu/publications/consolidated-version_en).

The payment can be made only after receiving the permission of the competent authority, therefore the request must be submitted to the Service before initiating the payment order. The request can be submitted by both the sender of funds and the recipient of funds. After examining the application, the person who submitted the application, the bank of the sender of funds and the bank of the recipient of funds, if the authorization is related to taxes, the institution administering the tax, and other interested parties will be informed about the decision made.

Requests and inquiries related to international financial sanctions are submitted to the Service by general E-mail [email protected] 

Pursuant to Article 10(4) of the Law on Public Administration of the Republic of Lithuania, a public administration entity shall take an administrative decision on a request or complaint of a person within 20 working days from the date of receipt of such request or complaint. If the request or complaint is received after working hours, on a day of rest or on a public holiday, the day of receipt shall be deemed to be the following working day. Where, for objective reasons, an administrative decision cannot be taken within this time limit, the public administration body may extend this time limit for a maximum of 10 working days.

Please note that Article 6 of the Law on International Sanctions of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter referred to as the Law) provides that international sanctions established by the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the legal acts of the European Union shall be implemented in the Republic of Lithuania in full and directly. The Service, within its competence for ensuring the implementation of international sanctions, decides on granting exemptions or permits to waive the restrictions and obligations specified in the legislation establishing international sanctions and carries out all the procedures necessary for that purpose. 

The Service also responds to enquiries from natural and legal persons concerning the implementation in the Republic of Lithuania of the international sanctions falling within the scope of its activities (funds and economic resources), but the Service is not empowered to interpret legislation and therefore does not issue interpretations, conclusions or other documents of any kind which would take a position on the sanctions imposed on individuals. All natural and legal persons implement international sanctions independently and are responsible for their proper application, and the European Union legislation imposing restrictive measures is directly applicable. The implementation of sanctions imposed by the European Union should also take into account guidelines, best practices and other interpretations issued by the European Union.

Entities implementing international standards and recommendations may also choose to implement sanctions imposed by third countries that are not mandatory in the Republic of Lithuania (e.g., the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, etc.).

A list of legal persons or other organisations without legal personality, which are owned or controlled by a sanctioned entity, is available on the website of the Service and is approved by the Service.

For up-to-date information on restrictive measures legislation adopted by the European Union, and to find out about the persons, entities and activities subject to European Union restrictive measures, please visit the EUR-lex portal.

The restrictive measures applicable to the Russian Federation and its entities are laid down in Council Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 of 17 March 2014 "concerning restrictive measures in view of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine" and Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 of 31 July 2014 "concerning restrictive measures in view of actions by Russia to destabilise the situation in Ukraine". The restrictive measures applicable to the Republic of Belarus are set out in Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 of 18 May 2006 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus and in view of the involvement of Belarus in the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Please note that the current version of the Regulations must be used for the purposes of the verification.

The above Regulations and their Annexes lay down the prerequisites for the application of restrictive measures (sanctions), the objects of their application and the exceptions to their application.

Please also note that in accordance with the provisions of the Law on International Sanctions of the Republic of Lithuania, all natural and legal persons are obliged to comply with and implement international sanctions implemented in the Republic of Lithuania. In the light of the above-mentioned legal regulation, it should be noted that in each case, natural and legal persons individually, after assessing all the known and relevant circumstances and taking into account the legal norms in force at the time, make decisions on the compliance of their planned activities with the requirements of the sanctions.

More information on the restrictive measures of the European Union applicable in the Republic of Lithuania, the lists of natural and legal persons subject to sanctions, can be found on the website of the Service.

Under the current legal framework, any movement, transfer, alteration, use, access to or management of the funds of a sanctioned person (change in their amount, amount, location, ownership, possession, characteristics, destination, any other change that makes the use of the funds possible), as well as any use of the economic resources of a sanctioned person (for the acquisition of funds or goods, for the receipt of services, for the sale, lease, mortgage, pledge, other use) is prohibited.

Any use of the funds or economic resources of a sanctioned person (e.g. initiation of a payment, conclusion of a contract) without prior authorisation of the competent authority shall be prohibited in accordance with the provisions of the European Union Regulations. Any natural and/or legal person who violates international sanctions shall be held liable in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on International Sanctions of the Republic of Lithuania and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania.

Paragraph 33 of the Description of the Procedure for the Implementation of International Sanctions, approved by the Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No 535 of 25 May 2022 "On the Implementation of the Law on International Sanctions of the Republic of Lithuania" (hereinafter referred to as the "Description"), provides that, if the legislation establishing international sanctions provides for exemptions from its implementation and/or provides that permissions may be granted to waive the limitations and obligations imposed by international sanctions, the competent authorities shall take decisions on the application of exemptions or granting permissions to waive the restrictions and obligations imposed by international sanctions. Paragraph 34 of the Regulation regulates the entities that may apply to the competent authority for an exemption or a waiver from the restrictions and obligations imposed by international sanctions; entities subject to international sanctions; and other interested persons.

The request must be reasoned and accompanied by documents supporting the factual and legal circumstances set out in the request, which shall be considered an integral part of the request (point 34 of the Regulation). Each application shall be examined individually, taking into account all the legal and factual circumstances. A decision taken following the examination of one application for exemptions or for the granting of exemptions from restrictions and obligations shall have no effect on the examination of other applications (point 39 of the Regulation).

The Service observes that the requests usually do not clearly state the factual circumstances (when, with whom the agreement was concluded, on what basis the payment transfer is to be initiated/credited, the amount of the transfer, etc.), do not include the account number of the sender and the payee of the funds and the name of the bank, and do not include the documents substantiating the factual circumstances (contracts, copies of payment orders, details of the services rendered, documents of delivery, etc.).

Article 1(1) of the Law on Insolvency of Legal Persons of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter referred to as the "Insolvency Law") provides that the purpose of this Law is to create conditions for an efficient insolvency process of legal persons, ensuring a balance between the interests of the creditors and the interests of the legal persons. Article 2(4) of the same Law defines that the insolvency proceedings of a legal person are the totality of the procedures laid down in this Law aimed at the liquidation of a legal person, whether by judicial or extrajudicial proceedings, by satisfying the claims of creditors with the assets of the legal person.

The Service also notes that pursuant to Article 59 and Article 66 of the Law on Insolvency, the insolvency administrator exercises the rights and duties of the management body of a legal person and has the duty to independently decide on the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of the creditors of the legal person, as well as the rights and legitimate interests of the legal person, the management, use and disposal of the assets of the legal person, and the satisfaction of the interests of creditors.

Please note that the Service is a law enforcement agency, the purpose of which is to carry out the detection and investigation of crimes, other offences against the financial system and related crimes and other offences (Article 2 of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Financial Crime Investigation Service). The Service is not responsible for the implementation of the bankruptcy process of a legal entity.

No, Council Regulations No. 269/2014, No. 833/2014 and No. 765/2006 do not provide for the possibility to authorise an advance payment.

Please note that each application is considered on its own merits, taking into account all the legal and factual circumstances. A decision taken following the examination of one application for exemptions or waivers from restrictions and obligations has no effect on the examination of other applications.

The main restrictive measures against the Russian Federation are set out in Council Regulations:

1. Council Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 of 17 March 2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine (individual sanctions);

2. Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 of 31.07.2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of actions by Russia to destabilise the situation in Ukraine (sectoral sanctions).

Please note that the current versions of the Regulations must be followed.

You can check which restrictive measures are currently in place for a specific country on the interactive EU sanctions map.

The main restrictive measures against the Republic of Belarus are defined in the Restrictive Measures Directive of 18 May 2006. Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 of 18 May 2006 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus and in view of the involvement of Belarus in the Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Please note that the current versions of the Regulations must be followed.

You can check which restrictive measures are currently in place for a particular country on the interactive European Union sanctions map.

Pursuant to Article 11(1)(3) and 11(3)(1) of the Republic of Lithuania Law on International Sanctions (hereinafter - the Law), the competent authorities shall respond to inquiries of natural and legal persons regarding the implementation of international sanctions within the scope of their activities in the Republic of Lithuania.

The Service is the competent authority for the implementation of international sanctions in the Republic of Lithuania within the scope of its activities - restrictions on the disposal of funds and economic resources, restrictions on payments, and other restrictions on financial activities (financial sanctions).

Financial sanctions: restrictions on the rights of internationally sanctioned entities to hold, use and dispose of money, securities, chattels, other assets and property rights; restrictions on payments to internationally sanctioned entities; and other restrictions on financial activities.

Thus, in the light of the existing legal framework, the Service takes decisions relating to the implementation of financial penalties.

It should be noted that unless an exception is provided for in the legal act imposing international sanctions, the competent authorities in the Republic of Lithuania, including the Service, are not authorised to grant a waiver from the restrictions and obligations imposed by international sanctions. For example, the Service does not issue a permit for the transport of euro banknotes, the official currency of a Member State of the European Union, to the Republic of Belarus (18 May 2006, Article 1za of Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 of 18 May 2006 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus and in view of the involvement of Belarus in the Russian aggression against Ukraine).

For more information on other competent authorities in Lithuania, see https://www.urm.lt/sankcijos.  

Paragraph 33 of the Description of Procedures for the Implementation of International Sanctions (hereinafter - the Description), approved by Resolution No 535 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 25 May 2022, states that if the legislation establishing international sanctions provides for exceptions to their implementation and/or stipulates that permissions may be granted to waive the restrictions and obligations imposed by international sanctions, the decisions on the application of the exceptions or the granting of permissions not to apply the restrictions and obligations imposed by the international sanctions shall be taken by the competent authorities.

In accordance with the provisions of points 33, 34, 37 of the Regulations, if the legal acts establishing international sanctions provide for exceptions to their implementation and/or stipulate that exemptions from the restrictions and obligations imposed by international sanctions may be granted, the decisions on the application of exemptions or the granting of exemptions from the restrictions and obligations shall be taken by the competent authorities on the basis of reasoned requests from the entities subject to international sanctions and other interested persons, examined in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on Public Administration of the Republic of Lithuania.

Paragraph 34 of the Regulation states that such a request must be reasoned and must be accompanied by documents supporting the factual and legal circumstances set out in the request.

In accordance with point 39 of the Regulation, each such application shall be considered on its own merits, taking into account all the legal and factual circumstances, and a decision taken following the examination of one application for exemptions or for the granting of exemptions from restrictions and obligations shall not have any effect on the examination of other applications.

In accordance with the provisions of paragraph 41 of the Regulation, the decision on granting exemptions or waivers from the restrictions and obligations imposed by international sanctions shall take into account the criteria and conditions for a specific exemption or waiver as set out in the international sanctions legislation and shall assess whether the application and the documents supporting it comply with those criteria and conditions.

The Service may only take a decision on the granting of an exemption/authorisation if it is fully satisfied that the natural or legal person, entity or organisation sanctioned, or a natural or legal person, entity or organisation associated with them, will not have access, directly or indirectly, to the funds or economic resources, and if it is satisfied that this will not lead to a situation where the funds or economic resources will be used for the benefit of the natural or legal persons, entities or organisations.

The competent authority shall apply strict rules when deciding whether to grant exemptions or authorisations from restrictions and obligations. Exemptions and waivers shall be granted only in exceptional cases and after an assessment of the necessity and justification for the exemption. A person requesting exemptions or waivers from restrictions and obligations must provide the competent authority with specific legal and factual justification of the circumstances.

Thus, the Service points out that the request itself must state the grounds for the request and specify what it seeks to achieve (the subject-matter must not be alternative, but clearly formulated and justified), i.e. It is not only a general request but also a detailed description, specifying the details of the request, including details of the sender/recipient of the funds (name, legal entity code, management scheme, articles of association, final beneficiary information, etc.), the basis for the provision of the service (accompanied by the authorisation of the competent authority to provide the service, etc.).

Description can be found here - https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/ae89cad1dd7911ecb1b39d276e924a5d/asr.

Natural and legal persons shall be liable for violations of international sanctions in accordance with the procedure established by the Republic of Lithuania Law on International Sanctions (hereinafter - the Law) and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania.

Legal persons shall be liable for violations of international sanctions in accordance with the Law, provided that violations committed by legal persons do not give rise to criminal liability for legal persons under the applicable law.

The following sanctionsmay be imposed on a legal person by the authorities imposing sanctions for breaches of international sanctions:

1. a fine of between 50 and 100 per cent of the value of the goods, services or funds which were the subject of the breach of the international sanctions, but not less than 10 000 EUR;
2. a fine of between 10 000 EUR and 50 000 EUR where the subject-matter of the breach of international sanctions is not goods, services or funds;
3.  where a legal person violates international sanctions repeatedly within one year of the imposition of a measure of sanctions for a violation of international sanctions, or where the value of the goods, services, or funds which were the subject of the violation of international sanctions exceeds 100 000 EUR, a fine of up to 5 per cent of the gross annual income, but not less than 100 per cent of the value of the goods, services, or funds which were the subject of the violation of international sanctions, and not less than 20 000 EUR.

Violations of international sanctions may be accompanied by the confiscation of goods or funds that were the object or result of the violation of international sanctions.

Please note that the Council Regulations prohibit knowingly and intentionally engaging in activities the object or effect of which is to circumvent restrictive measures (sanctions).

A natural person who violates international sanctions implemented in the Republic of Lithuania or restrictive measures established by the laws of the Republic of Lithuania may be subject to administrative liability under Article 515 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter - the CAO). Violation of this Article is punishable by a fine from 200 EUR to 6 000 EUR for individuals and from 600 EUR to 6 000 EUR for the heads of legal entities or other responsible persons.

If the administrative offence provided for in Article 515(1) of the CAO is committed repeatedly, persons may be fined from 2 000 EUR to 6 000 EUR, and managers or other responsible persons of legal persons from 4 000 EUR to 6 000 EUR.

The confiscation of the instrument, tool, means, goods or funds which were the object or result of the offence may be imposed along with a fine.

Natural and legal persons may be prosecuted for violations of international sanctions or restrictive measures imposed by the laws of the Republic of Lithuania under Article 123(1) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania, which can result in a fine or arrest or imprisonment of up to five years.

International sanctions are established by directly applicable European Union legislation and are implemented in full (Article 6(1) of the Republic of Lithuania Law on International Sanctions).

The Service points out that all natural and legal persons implement international sanctions independently and are responsible for their proper application, and that the restrictive legislation of the European Union is directly applicable.

The case law states that each legal person, entity or institution must independently (independently of the opinion of the Service or other authorities) assess the possible links of a business partner, customer or other person with whom legal relations are established or initiated with an entity subject to European Union sanctions and decide on the possibility of legal relations with such a person (Ruling of the Supreme Court of Lithuania of 27 June 2024 in civil case No e3K-3-139-701/2024).

The implementation of the sanctions imposed by the European Union should also take into account the guidelines, best practices and other interpretations issued by the European Union. Entities implementing international standards and recommendations may also choose to implement sanctions imposed by third countries that are not binding in the Republic of Lithuania (for example, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, etc.).

In this regard, we note that all natural and legal persons engaged in economic activities, financial institutions and other entities or organisations established or operating in the State are obliged to comply with the information published on the website of the Service on the links of natural and/or legal persons with entities subject to international sanctions.

Please note that all information on the implementation of international sanctions is publicly available on the website of the European Union law and other public documents of the European Union and on the website of the Service. Useful link: https://www.sanctionsmap.eu/#/main (search for sanctioned natural and legal persons).

Please also note that it must be ensured that the sanctioned persons do not directly or indirectly control a legal person or another organisation without legal personality.

Pursuant to Article 16(1) of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (hereinafter - the Law), financial institutions and other obliged entities are obliged to notify the Service immediately, and not later than within one working day of the occurrence of any such knowledge or suspicion, if they know or suspect that any assets of any value have been obtained directly or indirectly from a criminal offence or from involvement in such an offence, as well as if they know or suspect that these assets are related to terrorist financing.

Article 29(1)(5) of the Act stipulates that financial institutions and other obliged entities must establish appropriate internal policies and internal control procedures regarding: the submission of reports and information to the Service.

The internal control procedures shall be developed taking into account the results of the European Commission’s risk assessment, the results of the national risk assessment on money laundering and terrorist financing, the instructions of the Director of the Service, the documents and guidelines of the European Supervisory Authorities on the risk factors to be taken into account and the measures to be taken in cases where simplified customer identification is allowed, and other documents.

Obliged entities are required to assess existing and potential risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing, taking into account European Union and national legislation and sub-legislation on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, and to put in place systems or establish suspiciousness criteria to address those risks.

In the light of the above, the notifications to the Authority referred to in Article 16(1) of the Law shall be subject to an internal investigation, the procedures for which must be laid down in internal policies and internal control procedures.

The legislation on suspicious transaction reporting is available here:      

https://www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/b3d68f808c0d11ed8df094f359a60216.

Article 18 of the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing of the Republic of Lithuania provides that if a customer evades or refuses to provide additional information to a financial institution or other obliged entity upon request and within the time limits set by the customer, financial institutions and other obliged entities may, in accordance with their internal policy and internal control procedures, refuse to execute a monetary operation or a transaction, or may discontinue a transaction or a business relationship with a customer.

Pursuant to Article 12(4) of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (hereinafter - the Law), financial institutions and other obliged entities shall verify the documents provided by the customer and the information on the beneficiary on the basis of documents, data or information obtained from a reliable and independent source.

Such action by a financial institution or other obliged entity includes asking the customer to identify public sources where information about the beneficiary could be confirmed. The customer shall certify the correctness of the information provided by signing and stamping it (if it is required to have a stamp under the legislation governing its activities) (Article 12(5) of the Law).

In the opinion of the Service, financial institutions and other obliged entities are obliged to collect and store beneficiaries’ data for the period of time set out in the Law.

• a report on suspicious monetary operations or transactions (STR);
• information on a performed monetary or crypto-asset transaction, where a single cash transaction or crypto-asset transaction carried out by a customer, or several interrelated cash or crypto-asset transactions, amount to EUR 15,000 or more, or the equivalent amount in foreign currency.

Data are submitted via the Authority’s external information system (data submission portal), which can be accessed through the Electronic Government Gateway by selecting the service Submission of Data on Monetary Operations and Transactions / Suspicious Monetary Operations and Transactions.

In order to obtain access to the Authority’s information system, it is necessary to submit by email ([email protected]) a notification regarding the designated person who will cooperate with the Authority and to provide the details of the designated person (name, surname, personal identification number, telephone number, email address), as well as information about the represented entity (name, company code, business activity).

Access to the system via the Electronic Government Gateway may be granted to a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania or a foreign national holding an e-resident card or a residence permit in Lithuania, only after access has been granted and confirmation has been received (confirmation of granted access is sent by email).

Each designated responsible person submitting data through the Authority’s external information system can view only the information submitted by them. Information submitted by all representatives who have previously provided data through the system can be viewed only by a person with administrator rights. To obtain such rights, a request must be submitted to the Authority.

In the event of a change of the responsible person cooperating with the Authority, a new notification must be submitted, indicating the changed person and requesting the revocation of access for the person who no longer performs these duties. Such information is usually submitted by the head of the entity; however, a former responsible person may also personally inform the Authority by email ([email protected]) by submitting a request to revoke access to the former entity’s account.

If questions arise regarding the data submission procedure, or if persons entitled to access the Authority’s external information system are unable to log in or complete a submission, please contact the Authority’s Money Laundering Prevention Division by email at [email protected] or by phone at +370 707 56686 or +370 707 57438.

Pursuant to Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering or terrorist financing and amending Regulation (EU) No. 648/2012 and repealing Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directive 2006/70/EC, Article 53(2), where the Financial Intelligence Unit (hereinafter - the FIU or, in this case, the Service) wishes to obtain additional information from an obliged entity established in another Member State and operating in its territory, the request shall be addressed to the FIU of the Member State where the obliged entity is established. That FIU shall receive the information in accordance with Article 33(1) and transmit it without delay.

Thus, the obliged entity provides information only to the Financial Intelligence Unit of the territory of establishment.

Financial institutions and obliged entities have the discretion to decide which customers they want to serve and which customers they want to refuse.

We note that financial institutions and obliged entities are required to establish appropriate internal policies and internal control procedures relating to, inter alia, the commencement/termination of business relationships, the identification and verification of customers and beneficiaries (entities for whose benefit a monetary transaction has been carried out), risk assessment, risk management, the organisation of monitoring of business relationships and/or transactions, the establishment of criteria for the identification of suspiciousness of transactions or operations, the submission of notifications and information to the Service, etc. The internal control procedures shall be developed taking into account the results of the European Commission’s risk assessment, the results of the national risk assessment on money laundering and terrorist financing, the instructions of the Director of the Service, the European Supervisory Authorities’ documents and guidelines on the risk factors to be taken into account and the measures to be taken in cases where the use of simplified means of identification of customers is allowed, and other documents.

Obliged entities are required to assess existing and potential risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing, taking into account European Union and national legislation and sub-legislation on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, and to put in place systems or establish suspiciousness criteria to address those risks.

In accordance with the legal acts regulating the activities of the Service, the Service is not authorized to officially interpret legal acts, therefore the Service, in response to requests from natural or legal persons, can only provide the opinion of the Service, which cannot be understood as an official interpretation of legal acts.

Systematized legal acts are available on the website of the Service.

Pursuant to Article 4, Part 9 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (hereinafter referred to as the Law), the Service approves instructions to other entities not specified in Parts 1-8 of this article aimed at preventing money laundering and/or terrorist financing, supervises activities of financial institutions and other obliged entities related to the prevention of money laundering and/or terrorist financing, provides them with methodological assistance.

We note that obliged entities must establish appropriate internal policies and internal control procedures related to, among other things, the beginning/end of business relationships, identification and verification of clients and beneficiaries (Article 2, Part 14 of the Law), risk assessment, risk management, organizing the monitoring of business relations and/or operations, establishing criteria for the suspiciousness of operations or transactions, submitting reports and information to the Service, etc.

Please note that the Service does not issue payment institution licenses, nor does it assess the business plans and operating models of natural/legal entities, and does not provide advice on the latter's compliance with the provisions of the Law or other legal acts. Obliged entities can independently choose an activity model, and the risk of the activity model must be determined after systematically assessing the risks of the client, products, services and/or operations, country and/or geographical region, other factors, and taking into account the provisions of the Law and other legal acts.

Thus, in each case, financial institutions and obliged entities individually, after evaluating all known and important circumstances, following the established internal policy and internal control procedures and taking into account the legal norms in force at the time, make decisions regarding the compliance of the activities carried out with the requirements for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

We note that the Director of the Service on 5 December 2014 by Order No. V-240 approved the list of criteria for identification of possible money laundering and suspicious monetary operations or transactions is not exhaustive.

Financial institutions and other obliged entities, having established appropriate internal policies and internal control procedures related to the submission of reports and information to the Serviice, must also establish other possible criteria for identifying money laundering and suspicious monetary transactions or transactions, which are not specified in the Order, but which are taken into account may submit reports to the Service.

No, information about legal entities registered in the Republic of Lithuania can be found in the Register of Legal Entities.

Article 2, part 1, point 3 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing states that business relations are business, professional or commercial relations between a client and financial institutions or other obligated entities, related to their professional activities, which were intended to continue at the time of establishing relations for a certain period of time.

The beginning of a business relationship must be assessed individually in each case. Usually, this is considered the beginning of cooperation between the client and the financial institution, other obliged entities, i.e. signing a contract or other type of agreement, opening a payment account, initiating a payment order, currency exchange, etc. Business relationships are characterized by continuity.

According to the current regulation, the obliged entities send reports on suspicious monetary operations or transactions to the financial intelligence unit of the member state in whose territory they are established.

The Service is the main state institution that coordinates the implementation of money laundering prevention measures. However, the Service is not responsible for the implementation of money laundering and/or terrorist financing prevention measures outside the Republic of Lithuania, as well as for the supervision of entities registered outside the Republic of Lithuania, which must implement money laundering and terrorist financing prevention measures.

Part 2 of Article 16 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (hereinafter referred to as the Law) answers the question of what suspension is - financial institutions and other obliged entities, having determined that their client is conducting a suspicious monetary transaction or transaction, regardless of the monetary transaction or transaction amount, must suspend that transaction or transaction (except in cases where it is objectively impossible to do so due to the nature of the monetary transaction or transaction, the method of their execution or other circumstances) and no later than within 3 working hours from the suspension of the monetary transaction or transaction regarding this transaction or transaction to report to the Office, and lawyers or attorney assistants - to the Lithuanian Bar Association (if the monetary transaction or transaction was not stopped due to the nature of the monetary transaction or transaction, the manner of their execution or other circumstances, within 3 working hours from the detection of the suspicious monetary transaction or transaction).

The suspension period is 10 working days, starting from the day after the notification.

Inquiries related to the prevention of money laundering can be submitted to the general e-mail of the Service [email protected] or e-mail [email protected].

Financial institutions and other obliged entities, when implementing money laundering and/or terrorist financing prevention measures, must follow the Republic of Lithuania Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, list of criteria approved for identification of possible money laundering and suspicious monetary operations or transactions by Order No. V-240 of the Director of the Service, by Order No. V-273 "On the approval of supervision instructions of the Financial Crimes Investigation Service under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania in the field of regulation of the appropriate implementation of international financial sanctions", approved on 20 October 2016 of the Director of the Service, Order No. V-314 dated 30 November 2016 "On the approval of the Technical requirements for the client identification process, when identification is determined remotely using electronic means that allow live video transmission", of the Director of the Service. Order No. V-131 of 12 September 2017 "On the approval of the description of the procedure for the approval and submission of a copy of the personal identity document", Order no. 1V-701 of 16 October 2017 of the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania.

October 16 by "Regarding the approval of the description of the procedure for suspending suspicious monetary transactions or transactions and submitting information about suspicious monetary transactions or transactions to the Financial Crime Investigation Service under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania", Oder no. V-5 dated 10 January 2020 of the Director of the Service "On the approval of instructions for operators of deposit virtual currency wallets and operators of virtual currency exchanges aimed at preventing money laundering and/or terrorist financing" and other legal acts regulating the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, instructions of the Bank of Lithuania, other instructions of supervisory authorities, as well as approved internal policy and internal control procedures for identifying, assessing and properly managing risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing. The legal acts are available on the website of the Service.

Pursuant to Article 29(1) of the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing of the Republic of Lithuania, it is stipulated that financial institutions and other obliged entities must establish appropriate internal policies and internal control procedures related to:

1. identifying and verifying the identity of customers and beneficiaries;
2. risk assessment, risk management, taking into account the risks set out in paragraph 2 of this Article;
3. organising the monitoring of business relationships and/or operations;
4. implementation of international financial sanctions and restrictive measures;
5. submitting reports and information to the Financial Crimes Investigation Service;
6. maintenance of logbooks;
7. the storage of the information referred to in this Law;
8. updating customer and beneficiary identification information;
9. providing training to staff to ensure that they are properly familiarised with anti-money laundering and/or anti-terrorist financing requirements;
10. the allocation of functions within the financial institution for the implementation of anti-money laundering and/or anti-terrorist financing measures, as well as the management and communication of information on compliance.

Financial institutions and other obliged entities are required to assess the existing and potential risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing, taking into account European Union and national legislation and sub-legislation on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, and to put in place systems or establish suspiciousness criteria to address those risks.

In accordance with Article 29(3)(3) of the Law, the internal control procedures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be drawn up taking into account the documents issued by the European Supervisory Authorities in the field of prevention of money laundering and/or terrorist financing.

Thus, obliged entities are left with the discretion to determine the requirements for the identification of customers and beneficiaries in the light of the above-mentioned documents. Also, the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing of the Republic of Lithuania requires obliged entities to implement the documents issued by the European Supervisory Authorities.

Reports on suspicious monetary transactions or transactions and information on monetary transactions or transactions exceeding the amount of EUR 15 thousand in cash, if the value of such monetary transaction or transaction is equal to or exceeds EUR 15,000 or virtual currency exchange transactions or virtual currency transactions, if such monetary transactions whether the value of the transaction is equal to or exceeds 15,000 euros, financial institutions and other obliged entities must provide, implementing the provisions of Articles 16 and 20 of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.

The provision of data takes place through the Service's external information system (data provision portal) - Provision of data on monetary transactions and transactions/suspicious monetary transactions and transactions. You can connect to the System (portal) through the website of the Service, after activating the link or through the electronic portal of the government, by ordering the service Provision of data on monetary transactions and transactions-/suspicious monetary transactions and transactions.

In order to obtain permission to connect to the Service's information system, it is necessary to send a notification to the Service by e-mail ([email protected]) about the appointed person who will cooperate with the Service, and to provide the appointed person's data (name, surname, social security code, telephone number, e-mail ) and information about the represented company (name, company code, company activity).

A citizen of the Republic of Lithuania or a foreign citizen with an e- resident card or residence permit in Lithuania, only after access is granted and confirmation is received (access is notified by e-mail through which the information/request was sent).

Each designated responsible person providing data through the external information system of the Service can only see the information provided by him. Only a person with administrator rights can see the information of all representatives who previously provided data through the system. In order to grant these rights, it is necessary to apply to the Service with a request to grant such rights.

In the event of a change in the responsible person cooperating with the Service, a new notification must be submitted, naming the changed person and requesting the cancellation of access to the person who no longer works. Usually, such information is provided by company managers, but you can personally inform about a change of workplace by e-mail ([email protected]), submitting a request to cancel access to the former company's account.

On 2017 October 16 The Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania by order No. 1V-701 approved the description of the procedure for suspending suspicious monetary transactions or transactions and submitting information about suspicious monetary transactions or transactions to the Financial Crimes Investigation Service under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania.

If you have any questions about the procedure for providing information, please contact the Money Laundering Prevention Board of the Service in Vilnius by phone 271 7457 or 271 6686.