On April 20, the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission (LRTK) adopted a decision to suspend the free re-transmission of 32 TV channels managed by Gazprom Media, which are being re-broadcast in Russian on the territory of Lithuania, the Commission informs.

On February 24, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) adopted a special directive imposing restrictive financial measures on Gazprombank - a private-owned Russian bank, which owns the Gazprom-Media holding and operates 32 TV channels that are currently re-transmitted or distributed online on the territory of Lithuania.

Gazprombank is the owner of the TV channels, which are re-transmitted / distributed directly or indirectly in the territory of the Republic. The company is also included in the list of organizations subject to OFAC sanctions. Therefore, when signing contracts for the distribution of channels and executing payments as well as other transactions related to the distribution of TV channels, TV broadcasters or Internet distributors operating in Lithuania run a direct (indirect) risk of violating these sanctions. LRTK also considers that the re-transmission or online distribution of such TV channels, whose owners are subject to the OFAC sanctions, is not in the national security interests of Lithuania.

In view of all this and in order to protect TV broadcasters and distributors from a possible violation of the sanctions and the related financial risks, LRTK has decided to suspend on the territory of Lithuania the re-transmission or online distribution of the following TV channels: Avto Plus, BOKS TV, HDL, INDIYSKOYE KINO, KINOKOMEDIYA KINOMIKS KINOSERIYA, Kukhnya TV, KVN TV, Kto Yest Kto, La Minor TV, KHL TV channel, M-1 Global, Muzhskoye Kino, Nashe Novoe Kino, Nostalgiya, NTV Mir, NTV Pravo, NTV Serial, NTV Stilj, Pyatnitsa!, Pyatnitsa InternationaL, RODNOYE KINO, Russkaya Noch, TB-3, THT, THT Comedy, THT International, THT Music, ZEE TV, Zhivi! and Malysh TV.