In Lithuania, citizens of Russia and Belarus received over EUR 1 million in aid to Ukrainian refugees
29 May 11:59
More than 1 million euros of European Union funds intended to support Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania were mistakenly distributed to citizens of other countries, including Russia and Belarus, which led to a government audit and a change of leadership in the agency that oversaw the project. This was reported by the Lithuanian broadcaster LRT, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
The Lithuanian Ministry of Social Security and Labor launched an internal investigation after it was discovered that EU support intended for Ukrainians was also distributed to citizens of 43 other countries. People from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, who had residence permits in Lithuania, also received the money, the newspaper writes.
The European Social Fund Agency (ESFA), which administered the project, claims that under the rules in force at the time, support could have been legally extended to other socially vulnerable groups, not just Ukrainians.
Between 2022 and 2023, the EU allocated almost €17 million for the project “Support to War Refugees from Ukraine”. The assistance included food, hygiene products, medicines, legal services, Lithuanian language courses, and subsidized employment.
However, the State Audit Office found that 813 recipients were not citizens of Ukraine and therefore not eligible for EU-funded support.
The revelation that the recipients were Russian and Belarusian citizens reportedly caused outrage in Lithuanian government circles.
“This should not have happened. We are conducting an internal audit to determine how this happened,” Vice Minister of Social Security and Labor Rita Grigalienė told LRT RADIO.
The Seimas Audit Committee was informed about the findings last week, and the Auditor General’s Office asked for the return of the misallocated funds, the newspaper writes.
