Lithuanian Migration Department initiates check of Sheiman's former son-in-law after journalistic investigation
The Lithuanian Migration Department appealed to the State Security Department to assess whether the presence of Belarusian citizen Andrei Shymanovich in the country poses a threat to national security. The basis for this was a joint international investigation by journalists, including "Buro".
The subject of concern for the Lithuanian authorities was information about the creation of mobile applications that can transmit data to the special services of Belarus and Russia. Since the Migration Department does not have cybersecurity functions, it simultaneously appealed to the National Cyber Security Center and the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau with a request to conduct an examination and evaluate the software code of the applications for vulnerabilities and malicious functionality.
After receiving the conclusions of all departments, a decision will be made regarding Shymanovich's legal status in Lithuania.
Who is Andrei Shymanovich
Andrei Shymanovich is a Belarusian businessman who married Volha Sheiman in 2016, the daughter of Viktar Sheiman, one of Lukashenka's closest associates. He traveled extensively with the Sheiman family, including for business projects in Zimbabwe.
As journalists found out, Shymanovich is involved in a number of data collection and surveillance projects:
mSpy — a service for covert phone surveillance (geolocation, messages, calls), which has experienced several major data leaks.
Nicegram, eSIM Plus, InLab, Aivan — applications and add-ons developed through a connected network of companies in Belarus and Lithuania. The applications require excessive permissions (access to camera, microphone, contacts) and transmit telemetry to the Russian system Yandex AppMetrica.
In 2023, Shymanovich received a residence permit in Lithuania as a startup founder, and extended it in 2025.
He presumably passed the background check when obtaining his residence permit because he had already divorced Volha Sheiman at that time, although he founded his business in Vilnius while still a member of the family of an influential official of the Belarusian regime.
Comments
[Зрэдагавана]