Former culture minister’s loan linked to Russian national should have been declared, says political ally

A loan granted to a business owned by Lithuania’s former culture minister Ignotas Adomavičius was linked to a Russian citizen and should have been declared, according to Remigijus Žemaitaitis, leader of the opposition Nemuno Aušra party, where Adomavičius now serves as an advisor.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Žemaitaitis acknowledged that while “everyone makes mistakes,” the law requires such connections to be disclosed. “Of course, it should have been declared,” he said, suggesting Adomavičius may have simply forgotten. “I only remembered to declare everything after becoming a member of parliament myself.”

However, Žemaitaitis downplayed the significance of the findings, reported by the LRT Investigative Team, calling it “an event from 15 or 16 years ago.” When asked whether Adomavičius still owes money from the loan, Žemaitaitis replied, “I don’t think so.”

The investigation revealed that in 2013, Adomavičius received a €291,000 loan from Klaipėda-based Jurtinga Shipping. After the company went bankrupt, €191,000 of the debt was transferred to a UK-registered firm linked to Russian national Maksim Timošenko. By 2015, the unpaid portion—$1 million—was assigned to another Timošenko-associated company, Base Energy Limited.

Timošenko, whose career included work with Russian energy firms, was previously employed by Magnatek Region, a company known for financing political parties, including Vladimir Putin’s United Russia. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he relocated his business activities to Kazakhstan.