Data from encrypted Anom phones that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation used to monitor organised crime worldwide was stored on a server in the northern Lithuanian city of Šiauliai, the news website 15min.lt reported Tuesday.
According to the outlet, a Lithuanian court in 2019 authorised secret copies of the server’s data, even though officials suggested the US request for legal assistance should not reveal that the FBI operated the server.
The Anom encrypted messaging network involved about 12,000 phones distributed by law enforcement to criminal syndicates to secretly monitor their communications. The system was central to Operation Trojan Shield, a large-scale international investigation that in 2021 led to roughly 700 searches and more than 800 arrests, most tied to drug trafficking networks.
Citing a ruling by the Vilnius District Court, 15min.lt said Anom communication data from the Šiauliai server was copied two to three times a week and transferred to the FBI, which then shared the information with partners in other countries.
Finnish and German media reported that the US first sought Lithuania’s legal assistance in the autumn of 2019. On October 3 that year, a Vilnius Regional Court judge signed an order allowing Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau officers to access premises in Šiauliai, copy the server’s data and forward it to the FBI.
The court order described the server as being used by international criminal groups but did not mention that it was controlled by law enforcement and fed by an FBI-created encrypted platform, according to 15min.lt.
Leaked correspondence suggests the FBI’s initial draft request noted it had set up and controlled the Anom server, but that detail was omitted from the final request at the suggestion of Lithuanian officials, the outlet reported.
The FBI has maintained that Operation Trojan Shield was conducted lawfully. Lithuania’s Prosecutor General’s Office told 15min.lt it could not comment further on the country’s role, citing confidentiality commitments to international partners.
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