Prosecutors refer case of fraud and maritime container misappropriation to court

Lithuania’s Kaunas Regional Prosecutor’s Office has referred a criminal case to court, charging a 49-year-old resident of the Kaišiadorys district with large-scale fraud and falsification of financial accounting, the General Prosecutor’s Office announced on Thursday.

The pre-trial investigation, led by prosecutor Haroldas Mulevičius of the Kaunas Regional Prosecutor’s Office and officers from the Kaunas County Chief Police Commissariat’s Criminal Police Property Crime Investigation Board, established that the suspect, acting on behalf of several legal entities, advertised maritime containers for sale on an online platform.

According to prosecutors, the man entered into lease agreements for the containers, claiming they would be used for feed storage. However, investigators allege he never intended to fulfill these contractual obligations. Instead, he illegally sold the leased containers to third parties without the owners’ consent, disposing of 72 containers belonging to other companies and causing material damage exceeding €191,000.

In a separate scheme, the suspect also offered the same containers for sale online, sending potential buyers photographs, advance payment invoices, and requesting full or partial prepayment. After receiving the funds, he failed to deliver the containers and either did not return the money or refunded only a portion. This part of the scheme resulted in damages of over €24,000 to both individuals and legal entities.

Additionally, the investigation found that the suspect falsified the company’s financial accounting by omitting certain economic transactions, failing to submit all accounting documents, and concealing or destroying parts of the accounting records.

The suspect faces charges under Articles 182 (Parts 2 and 3) and 222 (Part 1) of the Criminal Code. The most serious charge, large-scale fraud, carries a potential prison sentence of up to eight years, while falsification of financial accounting is punishable by up to four years in prison. The case has been forwarded to the Kaunas District Court for examination.