Foxpay defendant Ambraz allowed temporary access to more funds

A Vilnius court has allowed Alfonso Ambraz, one of the defendants in the Foxpay criminal case, to temporarily access a larger sum of money held in his bank account. The Vilnius City District Court approved his request on Monday and changed the conditions of a temporary restriction on his property rights.

The court said Ambraz could dispose of a larger amount during September, but it did not disclose how much money he may use. The case involves four defendants, including businessman Vilhelmas Germanas and Marius Navickas, the husband of former social security and labour minister Monika Navickienė.

The General Prosecutor’s Office sent the case to court in April. Prosecutors accuse the defendants of fraud and document forgery, alleging that they acted as an organized group to acquire property of very high value. Prosecutors estimate the value at almost 24 million euros and say Germanas and Navickas led the group.

Authorities have frozen more than 7 million euros in assets to secure a civil claim. Germanas faces a 2 million euro bail requirement and electronic monitoring, while Navickas received 100,000 euros bail and a written undertaking not to leave Lithuania. The other defendants were also ordered to provide written undertakings not to leave.

According to the case file, the defendants bought cryptocurrency-mining equipment and moved some of it out of Lithuania. Prosecutors allege they falsely told the supplier that the equipment had been damaged, creating the appearance of a legitimate return and obtaining funds unlawfully. Germanas has denied the accusations, saying he operated according to normal business practices and could not have taken the property. The wider scandal also contributed to Navickienė’s departure from office after reports about her links to people connected with the case and a trip to Dubai on a private plane.