The Bank of Lithuania has created a FinTech-friendly environment that would attract new companies and encourage them to incubate their business in Lithuania. In year 2021 81 Electronic Money Institutions in Lithuania and 52 Payment Institutions in Lithuania are operating as fully licensed companies. If company is willing to operate as EMI in Lithuania or PI in Lithuania it would need to comply with the legal requirement for proper safeguarding of customer funds and other requirements of AML in Lithuania.

Lately the Wirecard scandal caught in the spotlight of FinTech's leads arousing attention to AML in Lithuania. As known, Wirecard went bankrupt in June last year after discovering a loss of € 1.9 billion in its balance sheet. UAB “Finolita Unio”, an Electronic Money Institution in Lithuania owned by the Singapore-based Senjo Group, is under suspicion by the German prosecutor's office for using it to steal more than € 100 million from Wirecard in the weeks before its collapse. Moreover, according to the prosecutor's office, part of the money was sent to the fugitive second-in-command Jan Marsalek.

UAB “Finolita Unio” in February 2019 received EMI license in Lithuania from the Central Bank of Lithuania to carry out payment transactions, as well as to issue, distribute and redeem electronic money as Electronic Money Institution in Lithuania, which remained valid for almost a year after Wirecard fraud was discovered, and no regulatory action was taken against the lender accepted, according to the German prosecutor's office.

Jekaterina Govina, Director of the Financial Market Supervision Service of the Bank of Lithuania, said that UAB “Finolita Unio”, EMI in Lithuania, has been under investigation by the country's Central Bank since the “early autumn” of 2020 and the investigation of Electronic Money Institution in Lithuania is now at its final stage. She also stressed that Lithuania is absolutely intolerant of such crimes and makes every effort to counter money laundering and terrorist financing, so that all companies complies with regulation of AML in Lithuania. The results of the investigation will be presented to the general public shortly.

Learn more what security risks might affect Electronic Money Institution in Lithuania and how to fill security criteria for restrictions of AML in Lithuania in our previous article here.

To find out more detailed information regarding the requirements of EMI in Lithuania or PI in Lithuania, do not hesitate to contact our lawyers in Lithuania at info@gencs.eu.

Tel.: +371 67240090