The article mentions Mindaugas Marcinkevicius, a former minority shareholder of the Vilniaus Prekyba group, who owns the Mart Inn Food supermarket chain in Belarus. Also, the DIY chain Oma, owned by Lithuania's Kesko group, might be sanctioned.
Other companies facing possible sanctions include Vakaru Medienos Grupe that has four companies in Belarus and produces particle boards, plywood and furniture, as well as Monolit Prom Invest providing customs mediation services, and pharmaceutical company NatiVita with investments from Pharnasanta Group, a company indirectly owned by Lithuanian businessman Gediminas Ziemelis.
Alexander Lukashenko could impose sanctions in response to the termination of the contract between Belarusian potash producer and exporter Belaruskali and Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, LTG), the country's state-owned railway company.
Some 575 Lithuania-capital companies are estimated to be operating in Belarus. They include Audimas, Modus Group, Kauno Grudai, Eugesta etc.
BNS reminds that on January 12, the Lithuanian government confirmed that the Belaruskali-LTG contract did not meet Lithuania's national security interests, therefore, it was terminated as of February 1 as part of the implementation of the existing US sanctions for the Belarus company, announced in August and imposed on December 9.
Belaruskali went on to appeal the Lithuanian government's decision, and Minsk banned trains with fertilizers and oil products from Lithuania from transiting Belarus as of last Monday.