Court upholds extension of arrest of Lithuanian fraud suspect sought by US

According to the regional court, there is information in the case that provides reasonable grounds to believe that Rimasauskas could have committed the crimes he is charged with.

The court also noted that the Lithuanian citizen has connections abroad as he has lived in Latvia and Russia for a long time and that his wife is a Belarusian citizen and that he has a valid Belarusian visa and frequently travels to the neighboring country.

In the court’s opinion, this supports the conclusion that Rimasauskas may flee from Lithuanian law-enforcement officials and hide in a foreign country if he is released from custody and a milder measure of restraint is applied.

The regional court’s decision on the extension of the arrest is final and not subject to appeal.

The Vilnius Regional Court on May 18 asked the Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office to request more information from the United States about Rimasauskas, whose extradition is sought. The prosecutors were given two months to supply the court with additional information.

According to Western media reports, the Lithuanian citizen is suspected of defrauding US-based Internet giants Facebook and Google of 100 million US dollars.

Rimasauskas, 48, was detained in mid-March and the US request for the man’s extradition reached Lithuania around a month later.

The prosecutor’s office is asking for Rimasauskas’ extradition under an international extradition treaty with the United States.

US law-enforcement officials have brought fraud, money laundering and identity theft charges against the Lithuanian citizen. The US Department of Justice has said in a press release that Rimasauskas orchestrated the fraudulent scheme between 2013 and 2015.

According to the department, some of the stolen money was returned to the US companies.