VILNIUS — The Akropolis company, part of the VP Grupė empire, has sued the Lithuanian national government because some land that it bought off the state lost value during the crisis.

The crisis led many real estate assets to lose value in Lithuania in 2008 and 2009. Many companies have defaulted on loans and declared bankruptcy.

Akropolis planned to use the land to build a new shopping center in the outskirts of Vilnius. The company bought the land for 40.78 million litai (€11.82 million), but now it is worth about half that and they are suing the government in an attempt to recoup their losses.

“The claimant … the state has been paid a total of 19.371 million litai for the land. Akropolis is seeking to not pay the remaining balance, the amount of their claim,” Vilnius District Court spokeswoman Asta Augonienė told the Verslo Zinios newspaper.

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