Vilhelmas Germanas, accused of fraud involving high-value cryptocurrency mining equipment, said Friday he would prove his innocence in court, arguing the dispute is rooted in a business conflict currently under arbitration.
“I intend to defend my rights in court and prove that I am innocent,” Germanas told reporters during an online briefing.
He denied allegations that he misappropriated more than 23 million euros, saying he had no formal ties to the companies involved and therefore no opportunity to commit the alleged crimes.
The case, now before the Vilnius City District Court, involves four defendants, including Mindaugas Navickas, the former minister’s husband who prosecutors say organised a scheme to fraudulently acquire cryptocurrency mining equipment.
Germanas rejected claims that the group operated as a criminal organisation, describing the defendants instead as individuals participating in a business venture.
“These are four individuals who participated in a business […] performing roles corresponding to employees or business process participants,” he said.
He added that a dispute between a Lithuanian-registered company and Chinese manufacturer Bitmain had already been referred to arbitration before the criminal investigation began.
“It was standard business practice. China failed to fulfil its obligations, and the matter moved to arbitration,” he said, warning against “criminalising” the dispute.
Prosecutors allege the group arranged for 5,400 mining units to be delivered to Lithuania under a contract to operate them in Kaunas, but only a small portion was ever put into use. They claim the defendants damaged some of the equipment, falsely reported it as unusable and staged its return while demanding 700,000 euros in cryptocurrency from the owners.
Authorities say only 216 devices were found in Lithuania, some of them connected at the Kaunas Thermal Power Plant.
Germanas denied receiving the alleged payment, calling it a deposit linked to logistical and banking issues faced by the Chinese company. He also said some equipment shipments were halted in Turkey due to missing documentation, which he blamed on the supplier.
Prosecutors have frozen assets worth more than 7 million euros to secure potential civil claims. However, Germanas said none of his personal assets had been seized.
His lawyer, Linas Belevičius, argued that ownership of the mining equipment remains unclear, noting that different entities within the Bitmain group have been cited as claimants.
“The issue of ownership is very, very grey,” added defence lawyer Giedrius Danielius, who said a Portuguese company has also expressed interest in filing claims.
Germanas also faces separate charges for possession of forged identity documents after authorities found fake Greek, Portuguese and Bulgarian IDs bearing his photograph. He acknowledged possessing the documents but denied using them.
“I did not know that holding such things is prohibited. That was my mistake,” he said.
The defendant claimed the documents were sent to him by unnamed business rivals attempting to blackmail him.
The case is part of a broader investigation linked to fintech firm Foxpay, which involves suspected money laundering of at least 17 million euros and alleged bribes totalling 100,000 euros. Prosecutors say that investigation remains ongoing and involves several suspects, including Germanas, his partner and Foxpay shareholder Ieva Trinkūnaitė, and Navickas, the husband of former social security and labour minister Monika Navickienė.
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