Lithuania sets up commission to verify circumstances of Abramovich's children's citizenship

The Migration Department was also tasked with reviewing the list of individuals and organizations subject to EU sanctions and checking whether other family members of sanctioned persons are Lithuanian citizens.

Bilotaitè emphasized that the granting of citizenship should not be confidential, and the Lithuanian passport should not serve as a cover for bypassing sanctions or any misuse of them. During this geopolitically challenging period, she asserted that the protection of personal data should not take precedence over national security interests.

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry also confirmed that Abramovich's two children were granted citizenship before Russia's invasion of Ukraine and that Abramovich himself does not have Lithuanian citizenship.

Bilotaitè also said that her ministry is preparing relevant legal acts that will make it possible to revoke Lithuanian citizenship on the grounds of a threat to national security and from persons who have received a passport based on their origin. The amendments to the law are currently being agreed upon.

What preceded it

Previously, it became known that two children of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich were granted citizenship in Lithuania. Abramovich's son received it 2 days before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In this way, they tried to help their father evade sanctions.

It should be noted that Arkady and Anna's Lithuanian passports were used for transactions usually seen as an attempt to circumvent sanctions.

Back in January this year, it was reported that Roman Abramovich, three weeks before the Russian army invaded Ukraine, had transferred the assets of trusts related to him to his seven children for at least $4 billion.