Наша история
Как двоих голландских предпринимателей пригласили в открытую экономику Литвы — и как система постепенно сомкнулась вокруг них.
2016 — Приглашение
Onne Frederikus Gerardus Lelie and Job Van Den Berg are Dutch citizens. Both arrived in Lithuania during a period when the country was actively courting foreign capital with promises of EU-grade rule of law, low taxes, and a harmonised single market. Lelie obtained Lithuanian citizenship in 2016, and the two of them registered UAB "Clean and Solve" (CLSO), code 304231452, as a Vilnius-based trader of industrial chemicals.
Illustration 1
Image: Vilnius airport arrivals area / OR an investor brochure cover ca. 2014–2016 "Invest Lithuania". Desaturated, archival feel.
2018–2024 — Трансграничная торговля по праву ЕС
For five years CLSO operated under the EU’s REACH regulation, registered with the European Chemicals Agency, supplying gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) — a substance with thousands of legitimate industrial uses (resin and polymer manufacturing, electronic-component cleaning, paint stripping). Goods moved from a German producer (VladaChem) to a Czech logistics hub (Transforwarding/Quick Delta) and on to a Dutch buyer (Trade Chemicals Europe BV). The cargo never physically entered Lithuanian territory.
Illustration 2
Image: industrial chemical drums on a pallet, EU-flag tape detail / OR cross-border truck on European highway at night.
Май 2025 — Арест имущества
On 27 May 2025 the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s office, under investigation No. 01-1-44850-24, ordered a temporary freeze of €700,521.07 + PLN 12,945.32 across CLSO’s bank accounts and assets — framing the case under article 202(1) of the Lithuanian Criminal Code (unlawful business activity). At that moment, no formal indictment had been issued. None has been issued since.
Illustration 3
Image: prosecutor’s official seal up close / OR a bank account statement with frozen line items, redacted.
Кафкианская ловушка
Each judicial review of the freeze — by judges Mikužytė (July 2025), Telksnienė (August 2025 appeal), Bakanauskaitė (November 2025) and Balkaitienė (May 2026) — upheld the measure. None engaged with the EU-law arguments raised by the defence: the free movement of goods (TFEU Art. 34–36), the supremacy of REACH in chemical regulation, or the EFTA Court’s decision in E-9/16 (Norway v ESA, PFOA) which protects cross-border traders from disproportionate national restrictions.
Illustration 4
Image: courtroom hallway in Vilnius regional court / OR a stack of court rulings on a desk.
Схема эскалации
Instead of resolving the dispute, the prosecutor’s office added new theories of liability each time the defence challenged the freeze. November 2025 saw the addition of article 216(1) — money laundering. May 2026 saw the addition of article 260(3) — narcotic precursor handling. The freeze was extended in eighteen-month tranches, the latest to November 2026, despite the procedural code’s default ceilings.
Illustration 5
Image: timeline visualisation / OR the case-file dossier (binder spine showing No. 01-1-44850-24).
Положение на сегодня
As of May 2026, CLSO has been operating with its assets frozen for eighteen months. No charge has been confirmed by a trial court. No EU-law issue has been referred to the Court of Justice. 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.
Illustration 6
Image: empty office desk with a single open dossier / OR a small Dutch and EU flag on a window sill.