Minister condemns pressure on 15min journalists after Bankera investigation

Lithuanian Culture Minister Lukas Alsys on Thursday condemned the persecution of journalists and editors, saying attempts to intimidate them were unacceptable. He was speaking about pressure on 15min journalists and executives after the news outlet published an investigation into financial group Bankera, LRT reported.

“Any persecution of journalists and editors intended to intimidate or frighten them is completely unacceptable,” Alsys told Žinių radijas. “The relevant institutions should draw conclusions about the process under way,” he added.

15min said this week that it had faced various forms of pressure following its investigation into Bankera, published last year. The outlet said information about its staff and their family members had been collected without justification, they had been followed at events, and articles distorting the truth had been published on a newly created website and on social media. It also said outdoor advertising had been bought to spread the articles.

According to 15min, it has received dozens of complaints and claims and has been reported to several institutions, including the Inspector of Journalist Ethics, the Commission of Ethics in Public Information, the Bank of Lithuania and the Ministry of Culture. Media organisations say the case bears the hallmarks of a strategic lawsuit against public participation, or SLAPP, in which a flood of complaints, claims and cases is used to silence criticism, intimidate and financially exhaust the media.

15min and the international investigative journalism centre OCCRP reported last year that tens of millions of euros raised from investors through a token sale had been transferred via Pervesk, which is supervised by the Bank of Lithuania, to Vanuatu’s Pacific Private Bank. The outlets said the bank had been acquired by Bankera founders Vytautas Karalevičius, Mantas Mockevičius and Justas Dobiliauskas, and that funds were later transferred to their own accounts and those of related companies, which were used to buy real estate.

In mid-September, 15min reported that the Bankera founders had been suspected of misappropriating assets worth at least 45 million euros following an investigation lasting more than a year. 15min is part of the 15min Group, which also owns the BNS news agency, radio stations and magazines.