Russian FSB officer to stand trial in absentia in Lithuania for espionage

The Klaipėda Regional Prosecutor’s Office has referred a criminal case to court involving a Russian citizen and Federal Security Service (FSB) officer accused of systematically organising and coordinating intelligence gathering in Lithuania for Russia’s benefit, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Monday.

The suspect will be tried in absentia. According to pre-trial investigation data, between 2014 and 2020, the accused organised and directed a group whose members collected information of interest to Russian intelligence on objects of strategic importance to national security, state institutions, border protection systems, public processes, and individuals attending various events.

Two Lithuanian citizens recruited by the suspect have already been convicted of spying for Russia. Klaipėda Regional Court sentenced Aleksej Greičius to four years in prison, while Mindaugas Tunikaitis, who pleaded guilty and expressed remorse, received a sentence of one and a half years. Investigators found that Tunikaitis gathered information on state institutions and other objects of interest to Russian intelligence, photographed infrastructure, collected data on civil servants and event participants, and was also tasked with acquiring and delivering requested publications, publicly disseminating certain information, and carrying out other instructions.

Greičius was instructed to organise cultural and public events in Lithuania, either fully or partially funded by the suspect, collect information on participants and observers, photograph and film the events, and hand over the material to the accused. It was established that both received financial compensation for their activities.

To avoid law enforcement attention, various conspiracy measures were used, including email accounts, communication via gaming platforms, social networks, and other pre-agreed channels.

The pre-trial investigation was led by Prosecutor Ruslanas Ušinskas of the Organised Crime and Corruption Investigation Division of the Klaipėda Regional Prosecutor’s Office. The investigation was conducted by officers of the Klaipėda County Chief Police Commissariat’s Criminal Police Organised Crime Investigation Board in cooperation with the State Security Department. The case has been referred to the Klaipėda Regional Court for examination. The accused faces up to 15 years in prison.