Lithuania names Bankera founders as suspects over alleged €45 million investor fund diversion
Lithuanian law enforcement authorities have formally named three co-founders of the cryptocurrency project Bankera as suspects in a criminal investigation, accusing them of siphoning off at least 45 million euro ($49 million) in investor funds following one of Europe’s largest digital token sales.
The move by Lithuania’s Financial Crime Investigation Service (FCIS) marks a major escalation in a yearlong probe stemming from investigative reporting by local news outlet 15min and OCCRP. Authorities confirmed that formal notices of suspicion were issued to the founders—Mantas Mockevičius, Vytautas Karalevičius and Justas Dobiliauskas—for the unlawful dissipation of high-value assets. All three have been requested to appear for questioning but they have reportedly left the country and apparently settled in Monaco. Their lawyer has not responded to reporter’s request for comment.
Bankera’s initial coin offering (ICO) raised more than 100 million euro between 2017 and 2018 from over 100,000 retail investors, as claimed by project developers. Promised a European-licensed commercial bank tailored for the digital currency era, investors instead saw token values drop, regular dividend payouts cease, and the promised banking institution fail to materialize.
According to financial records detailed by investigators, the founders secretly routed over 45 million euro of the ICO proceeds into Pacific Private Bank, an offshore entity in Vanuatu that the trio acquired shortly before the token sale concluded. The Pacific institution subsequently extended millions of euros in personal loans back to the founders. Secured by accounts holding investor capital, these funds were used to acquire luxury real estate across Europe, including prime real estate on the French Riviera and in Lithuania.
In late August, prosecutors moved to freeze key assets tied to the operation. Authorities seized high-end real estate in Vilnius and Kaunas held by Eternity Ventures Foundation—a Liechtenstein-based entity controlled by the founders—as well as personal property owned by Dobiliauskas.
The intensifying legal crackdown has triggered widespread reshuffling across the group’s corporate network. Several executives have stepped down, and the primary domestic entity, UAB Bankera, was recently rebranded as BankingLab Technologies. Despite the executive turnover and corporate restructuring, public records show that Mockevičius, Karalevičius, and Dobiliauskas remain listed as the ultimate beneficial owners across several underlying entities.