The State Security Department (VSD) has confirmed to the LRT Investigation Team the information about threats related to the business connections of Aivaras Stumbras, the son-in-law of impeached Lithuanian President Rolandas Paksas.
Until now, Stumbras has worked with some of the largest renewable energy companies, including those owned by the state. At the end of last year, however, requests by his companies Energijos Parkai and Energijos Turto Investicijos to sign letters of intent with Litgrid, Lithuania’s electricity transmission system operator, were rejected.
“We can confirm that the Coordination Commission for the Protection of Objects of National Security Importance has concluded on October 19, 2023, that Litgrid’s planned signing of letters of intent for the connection of electricity facilities to the electricity grid with Energijos Parkai and Energijos Turto Investicijos was not in the national security interests of the Republic of Lithuania. These conclusions were forwarded to the government and approved by the relevant government resolutions on November 19, 2023,” the government chancellery said in a written reply.
For its part, the VSD has confirmed that it has carried out an assessment of Litgrid’s planned transactions.
“According to the assessment of the VSD, the parties to the transactions […] have or have had in the past relations with foreign state institutions or natural or legal persons of those states that increase the risk or pose a threat to national security,” the reply reads.
“The VSD has submitted to the Coordination Commission for the Protection of Objects of National Security Importance the data supporting its assessment that the party to the transaction has had long-term cooperation relations with natural and legal persons of the Russian Federation,” it adds.
The LRT Investigation Team contacted Stumbras for comment and received the following reply: “I have received your questions, thank you. I am a private individual. I do not agree that information about me and my business should be collected and/or made public. Trade secrets, professional and confidential information are protected, non-public, and subject to legal liability.”
Connections in Russia
According to the information available to the LRT Investigation Team, threats to national security arise from Stumbras’ contacts with a Russian citizen Vasily Fedorin, who has connections in the Kremlin. It is believed that he may have provided assistance to Stumbras on business issues.
Lithuanian media have previously reported that Fedorin, together with his business partner Alexey Kalinov and others, tried to do business in Lithuania several years ago, buying apartments and land plots in Vilnius and Vilnius District. In November 2006, Stumbras became the director of their company Amberinvest and held this position until May 2009.
Stumbras previously denied that his father-in-law Paksas helped him to get a job at Amberinvest. The latter also claimed that he had no contacts with Russians doing business in Lithuania.
However, information gathered by LRT shows otherwise. Amberinvest was registered in 2005, just one year after Paksas’ impeachment, in the apartment of his long-time business partner in Vilnius. The founder of Amberinvest was a relative of this businessman’s wife, who used to work for Paksas.
He was soon replaced by another business partner of Paksas, a former confidant of the politician in the presidential election campaign. Finally, his son-in-law Stumbras took the helm of the company.
In 2011, Amberinvest went bankrupt, and Russian businessmen disappeared from Lithuania. A few years later, reports appeared in the Lithuanian media that they were linked to Russian political forces.
Kalinov, one of the major shareholders of Amberinvest, was one of the leaders of the Moscow regional branch of Russia’s radical nationalist party Rodina (Motherland).
Even Russian databases are scant on information about Fedorin, another shareholder of Amberinvest. However, in the summer of 2023, Fedorin and his partner set up University 2050, a limited liability company which trains unmanned aerial vehicle specialists, in Moscow and became its majority shareholder.
The available information suggests that Fedorin may have been involved in organising the visit of Paksas, then a member of the European Parliament, to Russia at the end of 2018. After his visit to Russia, Paksas said that he not only spoke to the “heads” of the Russian Duma but also met Vladimir Putin, which he called an “exceptional honour”.
The LRT Investigations Team contacted Paksas, but he refused to talk about the past events and his links to his son-in-law’s business.
Stalling projects
Stumbras became known in Lithuania when he married Paksas’ daughter in July 2004, just a few months after the president’s impeachment. But the two have more than family ties. In the spring of 2021, Paksas became a minority shareholder in Vėjo Elektra, one of the energy companies founded by Stumbras. Paksas took over the shares of the company from his daughter.
For many years, Stumbras and his wife have been showing off their fancy life in public. Popular entertainment magazines and social media are full of photos of their travels, holidays, birthday celebrations, etc.
But there is far less public information about Stumbras’ businesses. According to the data provided by the Centre of Registers, he owns a dozen companies, either directly or in partnership with other people. Most of these companies are involved in wind energy.
Stumbras’ business started to stall when last August Litgrid turned to the Coordination Commission for the Protection of Objects of National Security Importance regarding the companies Energijos Parkai and Energijos Turto Investicijos. These companies, owned by Stumbras through another company, wanted to build 80 MW and 50 MW wind farms and sought to sign letters of intent to connect to the electricity transmission grid.
A new regulation that came into force in February 2023 requires that, before signing letters of intent for reservations of 50 MW or more, it must be ensured that the person or company planning the project does not pose a risk to national security. Previously, there was no such requirement.
Following Litgrid’s submission, the commission issued a negative conclusion regarding Stumbras’ companies. As a result, the requested letters of intent were not signed, and Litgrid also turned to the commission regarding the letter of intent signed in July 2023 with Energijos Parkai for an 18 MW reservation.
“The implementation of the protocol is suspended. Litgrid is currently awaiting clarification from the Coordination Commission for the Protection of Objects of National Security Importance on the termination of the protocol,” Litgrid said.
Withdrawing complaint
Stumbras’ companies have taken Litgrid to court over its decisions. A hearing was scheduled for December 20 at the Vilnius Chamber of the Regional Administrative Court. The government, the government chancellery, and the Energy Ministry were named as defendants in the case.
However, it appears that the companies withdrew their complaint as early as December 4. Shortly afterwards, Stumbras’ firm Energijos Parkai applied to Litgrid, requesting pre-connection conditions for a capacity of 48 MW, below the threshold that would require the conclusions of the Coordination Commission for the Protection of Objects of National Security Importance. These conditions were granted to the company.
As Litgrid points out, the connection conditions are an initial document, which commits neither the developer nor Litgrid. An unlimited number of pre-connection conditions can be granted at the same time for planned projects on the same site. For further planning, the developer must apply for a letter of intent, based on mutual commitment and financial guarantees.
Data collected by the LRT Investigation Team show that Energijos Parkai has requested pre-connection conditions for at least five more projects this year. All of the applications were for less than 50 MW. However, in total, the company would have claimed 221 MW of reservations under the initial applications.
“Energijos Parkai has submitted several requests for pre-connection conditions. They were granted, but the company was informed that although the capacity of the projects is below 50 MW, no letters of intent will be signed with Energijos Parkai until the conclusion of the Coordination Commission for the Protection of Objects of National Security Importance is changed because the company does not comply with the interests of Lithuania’s national security,” Litgrid said.
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