Lithuanian Migration Department to investigate individual named in our investigation
The Lithuanian Migration Department has requested that state security officials investigate the Belarusian businessman Andrei Shimanovich. He has held a residence permit in Lithuania as a startup founder since 2023.
The Lithuanian Migration Department. Source: ru.Delfi.lt
The inquiry was launched after Buro published its July investigation. We reported that Shimanovich, who was married to Viktar Sheiman’s daughter, developed and maintained mobile applications in Belarus but released them through a Lithuanian company. Some apps collected sensitive customer information and sent it to Russia. They also obtained extremely broad rights to user content. Before establishing businesses in Belarus and Lithuania, Shimanovich was involved with the mSpy spyware service.
To investigate Shimanovich’s work, the Lithuanian Migration Department intends to cooperate with both the National Cybersecurity Center and the Criminal Police Bureau.
“These agencies will be asked to initiate consultations and, within the scope of their authority, assess the reliability of the aforementioned applications and their internal source code. They will also be asked to assess potential security vulnerabilities and other aspects that may help to clarify the malicious nature of such applications. Having received all the necessary information from other government agencies, the Department of Migration will make a decision regarding the legal status of the foreign national mentioned in the publication in Lithuania”, says a press release published by the Department of Migration on its website on the morning of 30 July.