01/09/2026 (Agence Europe) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office announced on Monday 31 August that two Belarusian nationals in Lithuania, a father and his son, as well as a company they controlled, had been convicted of fraud involving European subsidies. The Lithuanian company had obtained funding from the European Union Agency for the Space Programme to develop high-precision satellite navigation systems using Galileo, notably to guide agricultural machinery. According to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the two men had concealed their links with the Russian and Belarusian military industries, including entities subject to European Union sanctions. In particular, they had continued effectively to control the company after a change of ownership intended to circumvent the restrictions applicable to Belarusian nationals. Of the €745,454 granted by the Agency, €447,272 had been paid out. That sum has since been repaid in full to the European Union. (NP)