In 2016, Onne Frederikus Gerardus Lelie obtained Lithuanian citizenship in addition to his Dutch passport. Together with his business partner Job Van Den Berg, he founded UAB „Clean and Solve“ (code 304231452), a Vilnius-based chemicals trader registered under the EU REACH regulation with the European Chemicals Agency.
The company’s core business was the cross-border trade of gamma-butyrolactone (GBL, EC 202-509-5, CAS 96-48-0) — a substance with thousands of legitimate industrial applications, from resin and polymer manufacturing to electronic-component cleaning, paint stripping and metal degreasing. Across five years, the trade route was consistent: VladaChem (Germany) → Transforwarding/Quick Delta warehouse (Czech Republic) → Trade Chemicals Europe BV (Netherlands). The cargo never physically entered Lithuanian territory.
In November 2018, Lithuania amended its national Schedule IV to add GBL to its list of regulated substances. The amendment was a unilateral national measure: it diverged from the EU’s REACH framework and was not reflected in the regulation of any neighbouring EU member state. CLSO, like other traders, continued to operate under EU rules.
On 27 May 2025, the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s office, under investigation No. 01-1-44850-24 led by prosecutor Edmundas Bagdonas, ordered a temporary freeze of €534,351.88 across CLSO’s bank accounts and assets. The freeze was framed under article 202(1) of the Lithuanian Criminal Code (unlawful business activity). At that moment, no formal indictment had been issued.
Each judicial review upheld the freeze. Judge Mikužytė (July 2025), Judge Telksnienė (August 2025 appeal), Judge Bakanauskaitė (November 2025) and Judge Balkaitienė (May 2026) successively confirmed the prosecutor’s measure. None engaged in substance with the EU-law arguments raised by the defence: the free movement of goods under TFEU articles 34–36, the supremacy of REACH in chemical regulation across the single market, or the controlling precedent of the EFTA Court in case E-9/16 (Norway v ESA, PFOA).
When defence counsel began to win interlocutory arguments, the prosecutor’s office added new theories of liability. November 2025 saw the addition of article 216(1), money laundering. May 2026 saw the addition of article 260(3), handling of narcotic precursors. With every escalation, the freeze was extended — most recently to November 2026, taking the total period of asset incapacitation to eighteen months and counting.
As of May 2026, no charge has been confirmed by any trial court. No EU-law issue has been referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union, despite the defence’s repeated requests under Article 267 TFEU. The owners continue to seek redress through every available channel — national, European and international — and have agreed to publish the primary documents so the public can verify the record for itself.