Compliance Services in Lithuania
AT A GLANCE
- Regulatory compliance in Lithuania encompasses AML/KYC obligations under the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, GDPR data protection requirements, whistleblower channel implementation, and sector-specific compliance for licensed and regulated businesses.
- The Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Pinigų plovimo ir teroristų finansavimo prevencijos įstatymas — PPTFPĮ) requires obliged entities — including financial institutions, crypto companies, lawyers, accountants, and others — to implement comprehensive AML programmes with risk assessments, KYC procedures, and suspicious transaction reporting.
- GDPR (EU Regulation 2016/679) applies directly to all Lithuanian companies processing personal data of EU residents. The State Data Protection Inspectorate (Valstybinė duomenų apsaugos inspekcija — VDAI) is the supervisory authority; fines of up to €20 million or 4% of global annual turnover apply for serious violations.
- Lithuania’s anti-money laundering supervisor for non-financial sector obliged entities is the Financial Crime Investigation Service (Finansinių nusikaltimų tyrimo tarnyba — FNTT), which conducts inspections and can impose administrative fines of up to €1,000,000 per violation.
- We design, implement, and audit compliance programmes for Lithuanian companies and the Lithuanian operations of international groups — across AML/KYC, GDPR, whistleblowing, and sector-specific regulatory compliance.
Compliance services cover the design, implementation, and ongoing management of the internal frameworks that keep a Lithuanian company on the right side of its regulatory obligations. For AML-obliged entities — financial institutions, crypto companies, virtual asset service providers, lawyers, and others — this means a full AML/KYC programme. For all companies, it means GDPR data protection compliance. For companies with 50+ employees, it means a whistleblower reporting channel. For licensed businesses, it means sector-specific regulatory compliance. We advise on applicable obligations, build the policy and procedural framework, train the relevant personnel, and provide ongoing advisory as the regulatory environment evolves.
AML/KYC Compliance — The Lithuanian Framework
The Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (PPTFPĮ)
The Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Pinigų plovimo ir teroristų finansavimo prevencijos įstatymas — PPTFPĮ) is the primary AML statute in Lithuania. It implements the EU’s Fourth and Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directives (4AMLD — Directive 2015/849; 5AMLD — Directive 2018/843) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations into Lithuanian law. The PPTFPĮ was substantially amended in 2020 and 2022 to align with the 5AMLD requirements including the expansion of the obliged entity list and the mandatory public beneficial ownership registers.
Obliged entities — who must comply
The PPTFPĮ establishes a list of ‘obliged entities’ (įpareigotieji subjektai) — persons and businesses that must implement an AML programme. The obliged entity list has been expanded under 5AMLD. In Lithuania it includes:
- Credit and financial institutions — banks, payment institutions (EMIs), electronic money institutions, investment firms, insurance companies
- Virtual asset service providers (VASPs) — crypto exchange operators, digital wallet providers, and other crypto-related businesses registered with the Bank of Lithuania under the Law on Virtual Currency Exchange Operators and Deposit Virtual Currency Wallet Operators
- Audit firms and auditors — statutory auditors and audit companies
- Accountants and tax advisors — persons providing accounting, bookkeeping, or tax advisory services
- Legal professionals — lawyers, notaries, and other legal professionals when they assist clients with specified transactions (real estate, company formation, management of client funds)
- Real estate agents — estate agencies and individual agents
- Traders in high-value goods — dealing in goods for cash consideration of €10,000 or more per transaction
- Gambling service providers — land-based and online gambling operators
- Crowdfunding platform operators and trust and company service providers
The five pillars of an AML programme
Every obliged entity must implement a risk-based AML programme under Article 12 PPTFPĮ. The programme must address five core areas:
- Risk assessment — a written assessment of the money laundering and terrorist financing risks the entity faces, considering the entity’s clients, products, services, transactions, and geographic exposure. The risk assessment must be updated whenever there is a material change in the entity’s business model or when the FNTT or the Bank of Lithuania publishes updated national or sectoral risk assessments.
- Customer due diligence (KYC) — procedures for identifying and verifying clients before establishing a business relationship. Standard CDD applies to all clients; Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) applies to high-risk clients including Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), clients from high-risk jurisdictions, and non-face-to-face relationships. Simplified CDD is available for low-risk clients in specific circumstances defined in Article 10 PPTFPĮ.
- Ongoing monitoring — continuous monitoring of business relationships and transactions to ensure they are consistent with the entity’s knowledge of the client and the expected pattern of activity. Unusual or inconsistent transactions must be examined further.
- Suspicious transaction reporting — a process for identifying and reporting suspicious transactions and activities to the FNTT through the FNTT’s FORSIS reporting system. The reporting obligation applies without tipping-off the client that a report has been made.
- Internal controls — policies, procedures, and controls to prevent money laundering; staff training on AML obligations and red flags; designation of an AML officer; record-keeping for at least 8 years (Article 25 PPTFPĮ); and an annual internal audit of the AML programme.
Every obliged entity must designate a Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) — the person responsible for receiving internal suspicious transaction reports from staff, assessing them, and filing external reports to FNTT. The MLRO must be a senior member of management or a designated officer with sufficient seniority and independence to perform the function effectively. For small obliged entities, the MLRO can be the director. For larger organisations, a dedicated compliance officer serves as MLRO. The MLRO must be named in the AML programme and must complete AML training. We advise on MLRO designation and responsibilities and can provide MLRO training for newly appointed compliance officers.
Customer Due Diligence (KYC) in Practice
The customer due diligence (CDD) framework under the PPTFPĮ distinguishes three levels of diligence based on the assessed risk of the client and the transaction. The correct calibration of CDD to risk level is what separates an effective AML programme from one that is either non-compliant (too little diligence) or operationally dysfunctional (too much diligence applied uniformly to all clients).
Standard CDD — Article 9 PPTFPĮ
Standard CDD must be applied to all new clients at the start of the business relationship and on an ongoing basis. Standard CDD requires: identification of the client (natural person or legal entity) and verification of the identity using reliable, independent sources; identification and verification of the beneficial owners of legal entity clients (UBOs — as defined in Article 2(9) PPTFPĮ consistent with the 5AMLD definition); obtaining information on the nature and purpose of the proposed business relationship; and ongoing monitoring of the relationship and transactions.
For legal entity clients, identity verification includes obtaining: the entity’s registration extract; the articles of association or equivalent; evidence of beneficial ownership (JADIS data in Lithuania; equivalent register or declaration for foreign entities); and identification documents for the UBOs and the authorised representatives of the entity.
Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) — Article 11 PPTFPĮ
Enhanced Due Diligence is mandatory for high-risk clients and situations under the PPTFPĮ. EDD requires all the steps of standard CDD plus additional measures. EDD-triggering situations include:
- Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) — individuals who hold or have held a prominent public function. PEP status triggers EDD for the duration of the relationship plus 12 months after the PEP leaves office. EDD for PEPs requires: establishing the source of wealth and source of funds; obtaining senior management approval for establishing the relationship; and enhanced ongoing monitoring.
- Clients or transactions involving high-risk third countries — countries identified by the European Commission as having strategic AML deficiencies. Currently approximately 20 countries are on the EU high-risk list.
- Non-face-to-face client relationships — where the client is not physically present for identification. Remote CDD must be supplemented by additional verification measures (certified document copies, video identification, or verified electronic identity).
- Correspondent banking relationships — when a Lithuanian credit institution establishes a correspondent banking relationship with a credit institution in a non-EU country.
- Complex or unusually large transactions without apparent economic purpose.
Simplified CDD — Article 10 PPTFPĮ
Simplified CDD is available for low-risk clients in specific circumstances where the PPTFPĮ permits a reduced level of verification — including listed companies on regulated EU markets, public authorities, and clients presenting low risk based on the entity’s documented risk assessment. Simplified CDD does not mean no CDD — it means a reduced level of verification, applied consistently with a documented risk rationale.
GDPR Compliance in Lithuania
The EU General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation 2016/679 — GDPR) applies directly and without national implementation in Lithuania. It governs the processing of personal data of EU residents by any organisation that either is established in the EU or targets EU residents with goods or services. The Lithuanian supervisory authority is the State Data Protection Inspectorate (Valstybinė duomenų apsaugos inspekcija — VDAI).
Who is subject to GDPR in Lithuania
Every Lithuanian company that processes personal data — which means collecting, storing, using, transmitting, or deleting information about identifiable individuals — is subject to GDPR. There is no size threshold: a one-person company that stores client email addresses is subject to GDPR. The GDPR applies to employees’ data, clients’ data, suppliers’ data, website visitors’ data, and any other personal data the company handles.
The six GDPR compliance requirements we implement
- Lawful basis for processing — every processing activity must have a lawful basis under Article 6 GDPR: consent, contract performance, legal obligation, vital interests, public task, or legitimate interests. Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)) is the most commonly applicable basis for B2B processing but requires a documented balancing test.
- Privacy notices — individuals whose data is processed must be informed of the processing under Articles 13–14 GDPR. Website privacy policies, employee privacy notices, and client data processing notices must be current, complete, and accessible.
- Data subject rights — individuals have the right to access their data, correct it, delete it (‘right to be forgotten’), restrict processing, and object to processing. Companies must have documented procedures for handling these requests within the statutory 30-day response period.
- Data processing agreements — where a Lithuanian company uses third-party processors (cloud services, payroll providers, email marketing platforms), a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) under Article 28 GDPR must be in place with each processor.
- Data breach notification — Article 33 GDPR requires notification to the VDAI within 72 hours of becoming aware of a personal data breach that poses a risk to individuals’ rights. Breaches posing a high risk must also be notified to the affected individuals. A breach response plan must be in place.
- Data Protection Officer (DPO) — a DPO is mandatory under Article 37 GDPR for public authorities, companies whose core activity involves large-scale systematic monitoring, and companies whose core activity involves large-scale processing of sensitive data. For other companies, a voluntary DPO appointment or a DPO-as-a-service arrangement is advisable.
VDAI enforcement — fines and investigations
The VDAI has progressively increased its enforcement activity. Fines under GDPR are tiered: up to €10 million or 2% of global annual turnover for technical violations (inadequate security, failure to appoint a DPO, record-keeping failures); and up to €20 million or 4% of global annual turnover for substantive violations (unlawful processing, breach of data subject rights, unauthorised international transfers). In practice, VDAI fines for Lithuanian companies have typically been in the range of €2,000–€50,000 for most violations — but the maximum has been applied to serious cases. VDAI investigations are frequently triggered by data subject complaints, which can be submitted directly to VDAI online.
Under Article 30 GDPR, every company with 250+ employees must maintain a Record of Processing Activities — a written inventory of all the personal data processing activities the company undertakes. Companies with fewer than 250 employees are exempt from the mandatory RoPA requirement unless their processing poses a risk to rights and freedoms, is not occasional, or includes special category data. In practice, we recommend all Lithuanian companies maintain a RoPA regardless of size — it is the foundational document of any GDPR compliance programme and significantly simplifies responses to VDAI investigations and data subject requests.
