Lithuanian Tax inspectors and financial crime investigators charged with scrutinizing Panama Papers revelations

“The VMI and FNTT experts working at the Risk Analysis Centre have been instructed to place their special focus on the data of the Panama Papers, analysis of the data and identification of tax risks,” Dainoras Bradauskas, the director of the State Tax Inspectorate, said in a statement on Wednesday.

The tax inspectorate has already launched procedures in connection to some Lithuanian tax-payers listed in the so-called Panama Papers.

The centre has so far opened two probes and is to decide whether to start more.

Darius Būta, spokesman for the tax authority, confirmed to BNS that two investigations related to the Panama Papers scandal were being conducted, but he declined to name the persons and companies involved.

According to Artūras Klerauskas, deputy head of the VMI, the authorities are analyzing all information published in the media and looking for indications of tax evasion or other criminal activities.

The official would not say how much time the investigation might take.

The Panama Papers are about 11 million documents that were leaked from the database of the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca which specializes in setting up holding companies in so-called tax havens.

The documents indicate that accounts at the bankrupt Lithuanian bank Ūkio Bankas were used in transactions linked to the circle of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Former president of the Lithuanian Football Federation Liutauras Varanavičius has also been named as the owner of an offshore company managed by Mossack Fonseca.