The Migration Department has launched an investigation into whether Eduardas Manovas, a man suspected of spying for Russia, legally acquired Lithuanian citizenship 20 years ago.
According to the department, the process will take time as they need to gather and verify information from various institutions.
“The minister’s order [to investigate the matter] has been received and an investigation has been opened,” Rokas Pukinskas, the migration body’s spokesperson, told BNS on Tuesday.
He added that the information regarding the man’s Lithuanian citizenship is old and will take time to verify.
“Information will be gathered from other institutions, and at this point, it’s difficult to say when the investigation might be concluded,” Pukinskas said. “Quick decisions are apparently not possible because a lot of information needs to be collected.”
After law-enforcement authorities announced on Monday the completion of a pre-trial investigation in which Manovas is suspected of spying for Russia, Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė instructed the Migration Department to look into whether the man had legally obtained Lithuanian citizenship.
According to the minister, if the investigation finds that the suspect acquired Lithuanian citizenship by submitting forged documents or through other fraudulent means, steps will be taken to revoke his citizenship.
According to prosecutors, the suspect is believed to have worked for Russia’s GRU military intelligence service since 2018, collecting non-classified information about Lithuania that was of interest to Moscow.
The suspected spy had lived in Russia before moving to Lithuania, where he established a new identity and joined the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD).
In 2011, Manovas ran as a TS-LKD candidate in the Šiauliai City Council election and served on the Šiauliai branch council of the Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees.
The pre-trial investigation into espionage, which was opened in January, is now closed, and the case will soon go to court.
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