Lithuania’s State Security Department declares 22 Belarusian citizens a national-security threat

Lithuania’s State Security Department says 22 Belarusian citizens who worked at a technology company have been declared threats to national security and expelled from the country.

Their temporary residence permits were revoked, and all 22 were barred from entering the Schengen Area for five years, the department said in a Facebook post.

According to the department, the people had worked for a company involved in a project for the European Union Space Programme Agency and had fraudulently obtained nearly €500,000. The company’s activities became linked to a case in which two Belarusian citizens were convicted by the Vilnius Regional Court on Sept. 1 of fraud involving EU funds, document forgery and the use of forged documents.

The Financial Crime Investigation Service said the two defendants admitted guilt and compensated €447,272 in damage. Investigators determined that a father and son had concealed links to Russia’s and Belarus’s military industries. The investigation was organized by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and carried out by the Financial Crime Investigation Service in cooperation with the State Security Department.