15min

15min (Lithuanian: Penkiolika minučių) is one of the largest news websites in Lithuania, and is owned by Estonian media company Postimees Group and Lithuanian company 4 Bees. The website attracts over one million unique users per month and is led by CEO Tomas Balžekas.

15 min
IndustryNews media
Key people
Tomas Balžekas
CEO
ParentPostimees Group
Websitewww.15min.lt
15min headquarters in Vilnius

15min was founded in 2005 as a free daily newspaper published in Vilnius, Kaunas, and Klaipėda and was distributed in public buses, streets, and some cafés. In December 2011, it became a weekly newspaper circulating in seven Lithuanian cities.[1] The newspaper was closed in 2013 as the company decided to concentrate its operations on digital platforms only.

In May 2016, 15min disabled anonymous comments, starting an "Internet Hygiene" movement. In 2016, 15min introduced a paywall to ad-blockers.

15min is known for its explanatory journalism and investigative journalism and was an official partner of the Panama Papers investigation team.

In March 2019, in conjunction with the Sarajevo-based Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, 15min broke a story regarding a nearly $9 billion global money laundering scheme allegedly constructed by Sberbank CIB (formerly known as "Troika Dialog").[2] The scheme is known as ŪkioLeaks or Troika Laundromat.[3][4][5][6][7]

In October 2020, several reporters at the website resigned in protest against planned restructuring of the editorial team which would see several editors including Raimundas Celencevičius, the chief editor of the outlet, removed from their desks. The resigned journalists accused the management of editorial interference. 47 workers at the news portal have founded a new trade union to challenge the management.[8]

References
  1. Uždaromas dienraštis "15min"
  2. "One of Putin's closest friends was just implicated in a massive money laundering scheme". TheWeek.com. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  3. Černiauskas, Šarūnas (4 March 2019). "Ūkio bankas – milijardinės pinigų plovimo sistemos centre" [Ūkio bankas is at the center of the billion-dollar money laundering system]. 15min (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  4. Garside, Juliette (4 March 2019). "Q&A: what is the 'Troika Laundromat' and how did it work?". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  5. "The Troika Laundromat". OCCRP. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  6. "Russian Troika Dialog bank investigation reveals offshore money laundering scheme". bne IntelliNews. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  7. O'Conner, Colin (4 March 2019). "The Troika Laundromat: Five Quick Takeaways". RFE/RL. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  8. "Reporters from Lithuania's 15min.lt resign in protest against 'interference'". LRT News. Lithuanian National Radio and Television. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2022.


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