The Lithuanian authorities may fine their carriers for returning trucks from Belarus

The Lithuanian Financial Crime Investigation Service (SRFP) has warned carriers that parking and security fees for trucks stuck in Belarus are prohibited. This is reported by the Lithuanian media.

The SRFP stated that non-cash and cash payment for the services of guarded parking lots in Belarus is prohibited, because Beltamozhservice is under EU sanctions. At the same time, carriers have not yet been able to get an answer to the question of whether payment will be considered a violation not directly, but through partners.

In turn, the head of the Lithuanian Association of Automobile Carriers (LINAVA) Erlandas Mikenas noted that business fears fines for circumvention of sanctions. The amount of financial penalties will be equal to the parking fee in Belarus.

"If you pay 6 thousand euros for a truck and only then it still makes sense to pick it up, then not for 12 thousand," he said.

Let's remind, Lithuanian trucks got stuck in Belarus after Vilnius closed the border last fall. The Belarusian authorities moved them to guarded parking lots and offered Lithuania to resolve the issue at the diplomatic level. Vilnius refused to negotiate. In March, Belarusian Prime Minister Alexander Turchin held a meeting in Minsk with Lithuanian and Polish cargo carriers whose cars were registered in Lithuania. After that, Alexander Lukashenko ordered to reduce the cost of parking so that carriers could pay for it and leave Belarus. At the beginning of April, more than 450 trucks had already returned to Lithuania.