Lithuania’s Migration Department under the Interior Ministry has launched a review of Belarusian citizen Andrei Shymanovich following the publication of a recent investigative report.
The Migration Department has asked Lithuania’s State Security Department to assess whether Shymanovich’s presence in the country poses a threat to national security. He has held a residence permit in Lithuania since 2023.
Additional requests have also been sent to the National Cyber Security Centre and the Criminal Police. They concern applications developed by companies owned by Shymanovich.
“After receiving all the necessary information from other state institutions, the Migration Department will make a decision regarding the legal status of the foreign national mentioned in the publication,” the department said.
Earlier, the Belarusian investigative outlet Byuro published a report about Shymanovich. It described his ties to Viktar Sheiman, whose son-in-law he previously was. The journalists also reported that companies owned by Shymanovich developed applications that were distributed through a Lithuanian legal entity. According to the investigation, the applications collected sensitive user information, transmitted data to Russia and requested exceptionally broad permissions for user-generated content. Shymanovich had previously been linked to the spyware service mSpy.
