News
An employee of Optogama, a leading Lithuanian manufacturer of laser equipment, has been implicated in the illegal shipment of technological products to Russian defense institutions. Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT broke the story earlier today, citing Optogama’s CEO, Tadas Lipinskas.
Lipinskas issued an official statement acknowledging an ongoing pre-trial investigation by the country’s Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT).
“Optogama is aware of the ongoing pre-trial investigation by the Financial Crimes Investigation Service. We know that one of the company’s employees engaged in illegal actions, which may have led to some of the components produced by the company being transferred to sanctioned entities,” Lipinskas told LRT Radio in a comment.
He added that the company had no prior knowledge of the employee’s actions and said that the situation came as a surprise to management. The employee has been fired, an internal investigation is underway, and the company is working closely with law enforcement. One person has been detained so far.
In light of the incident, Optogama has also suspended its membership in the Lithuanian Laser Association.
The situation has also drawn the attention of Lithuania’s top security authorities. The State Security Department (VSD) announced a large-scale investigation that uncovered the existence of a supply network for high-tech equipment to Russian defense institutions, orchestrated by a Russian citizen with a temporary residence permit in Lithuania. Ten individuals have been named as suspects in the investigation, which involved actions in all three Baltic states — Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
Optogama, which employs 30 people, specializes in manufacturing laser sources and optical systems. The incident could have serious reputational consequences for the company, said Lithuanian Laser Association President Gediminas Račiukaitis. One of Optogama’s founders is Belarusian national Nikolai Kuleshov, and a company named LLS, based in St. Petersburg, operates as Optogama’s representative in Russia.
On Jan. 15, the U.S. Department of Justice released its updated list of sanctions, which included entities from the Russian military-industrial complex. Among them are the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, currently occupied by the Russian army, the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, and the Patriot Exhibition Center. Other companies sanctioned include Voentorg JSC, Motovilikhinskie Zavody (Motovilikha Plants), the Tactical Missiles Corporation, Agregat JSC (also known as “LAAZ”), the Nizhny Novgorod Research and Production Association named after M.V. Frunze, and the Novotroitsk Chromium Compounds Plant.
The revised list also designated several dozen individuals and companies based in China, Turkey, and the UAE — as well as one Kyrgyz bank, Keremet — for their role in aiding Russian sanctions evasion schemes.