The news was first reported by 15min.lt, whose journalistic investigation prompted the Interior Ministry to terminate the contract between ADIC and Garsų pasaulis.
Minister of the Interior Agnė Bilotaitė notes that production of passports is an especially sensitive area and companies making documents should not raise the slightest of doubts.
Until now, the printing house used to participate in the ministry’s competitions as the sole provider of services for making passports.
The ministry will announce a new international tender for the procurement of forms for personal identification documents.
In May, an investigation by 15min.lt revealed that Garsų pasaulis may have ties with Belarusian oligarch Viktor Shevtsov, who is dubbed „the wallet“ of Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko, and to the Belarusian hologram monopoly Golograficheskaya Industriya.
Once this information emerged, the Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) and the State Security Department (VSD) opened probes.