Recent high-profile corruption cases in Belarus. Hit on the paw. High-profile corruption scandals in Belarus

MINSK, June 7 - RIA Novosti. Belarusian high-ranking officials detained on suspicion of corruption. Their names and positions are not named, apparently in the interests of the investigation. True, the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, when he said that he would not forgive anyone for corruption crimes, hinted - especially those who "wear heavy shoulder straps."

In Belarus, a number of high-ranking officials were detained for taking bribesThe State Security Committee did not specify the names of the detainees, promising to provide all the information later. At the same time, the head of the department, Valery Vakulchik, stressed that "the bribes were large."

Back in April, the head of state announced that control over the work of leaders, including members of the government and ministers, was being tightened in the country, since "some of them simply became insolent."

According to experts, the course towards fighting corruption indicates that there are no untouchables in the state apparatus.

Lukashenka said - Lukashenka did

A few days before the detention of high-ranking officials, Lukashenko announced the upcoming high-profile corruption revelations among officials.

Information about new cases of corruption in the Belarusian state structures did not have to wait long. If on Wednesday Prosecutor General of the Republic Alexander Konyuk did not want to comment on this topic, then the very next day, KGB Chairman Valery Vakulchik announced that a whole group of officials had been detained for taking large bribes.

“A number of officials have been detained, but I will tell you this, and the head of state instructed me to bring this information to the public, this will be done without fail. The only thing I want to draw your attention to is that this is not about one official, and not one fact, and not about one criminal case," Vakulchik said.

The head of the KGB confirmed that the level of detained officials is high. At the same time, he expressed the opinion that in this case, it is not so much their positions that are important, but the amount of bribes. "The bribes are big," Vakulchik remarked. However, he did not disclose the names of the detainees and their positions.

The head of the KGB also clarified that the total amount of numerous bribes in the latest criminal cases is tens of thousands of dollars. "It has already been proven - in about a year, somewhere around 140 thousand dollars. But this figure will definitely grow," the chairman of the committee is convinced.

In addition to this high-profile case, information periodically appeared in the media that this or that leader was removed from office for failure to take measures "to suppress offenses and facts of corruption in subordinate organizations." In particular, in early May, Sergei Novikov, head of the state inspectorate for the protection of flora and fauna, and his deputy, Alexander Dunkovich, were dismissed by presidential decree.

Shortly before this, Lukashenka dismissed Mikhail Amelyanovich, Minister of Forestry, and Alexander Shamko, Minister of Sports and Tourism, for failure to take effective measures to combat corruption.

In addition, in March, the State Security Committee of Belarus detained Vladimir Kostin, director of the aviation department of the Ministry of Transport, red-handed while receiving a bribe of 3.5 thousand dollars. Now he is in custody.

When the assistant turned out to be a bandit

A high-profile case with a large bribe for Belarus was the detention of ex-assistant Lukashenka, inspector for the Grodno region Sergei Rovneiko. It was from him that a long chain of serious offenses among civil servants began to unwind.

According to the KGB, Rovneiko was caught red-handed on May 29 while receiving $200,000. The former assistant has already been charged and is in custody. He is suspected of extortion and receiving money from business representatives "for resolving issues within his competence." The criminal case was initiated under the article, the sanction of which provides for imprisonment for up to 15 years. The ex-official confessed.

The President of Belarus, commenting on the detention of Rovneiko, noted that he behaved like "a real bandit." According to Lukashenka, his former assistant came to the attention of operational units more than a year and a half ago. And in this case, first of all, income declarations worked.

“When the personnel study was going on, I asked where such a luxury came from: cars up to a dozen, apartments up to a dozen. An ordinary official and his family cannot live like this,” the president said.

Lukashenka admitted that he is unpleasant when it turns out that people in high positions are engaged in corruption, but dozens of such cases have been identified. At the same time, the head of state promised other criminal cases related to high-ranking officials.

There are no untouchables

According to Alexander Shpakovsky, a political analyst from Belarus, news about the fight against corruption and, in particular, about the latest KGB arrests, "is not something extraordinary in the criminal law policy" of the republic.

“In fact, the line on the fight against corruption has been traditional for the Belarusian state since Alexander Lukashenko came to power. In fact, it turns out that there are no untouchable persons in the state apparatus. Including among the personnel register of the head of state. Criminal cases were initiated in different years in against ministers, other high-ranking officials, including representatives of law enforcement agencies," Shpakovsky noted.

According to him, in 2017 alone, about 800 criminal cases were initiated for corruption crimes. “Therefore, in Belarus, corruption was fought quite hard before, and one cannot say that we are experiencing a surge in corruption crimes,” the agency’s interlocutor believes.

At the same time, the analyst expressed the opinion that "corruption cannot be defeated by repressive methods alone" and it is hardly "correct to say that corruption can be defeated, because this phenomenon is as old as the world." Belarus is no exception in this case, Shpakovsky noted.

“As for the other announced criminal cases, I cannot rule out that they are a continuation of the Rovneiko case. When the names of the defendants in the criminal cases or some preliminary information about the nature of their connections with each other are made public, we will be able to confirm the correctness of this hypothesis in practice. or refute it," he said.

Meanwhile, in the fight against corruption, Shpakovsky continued, another aspect is important, "besides purely economic and law enforcement," since "the issue of corruption is also a matter of political security."

“It was manifestations of corruption that caused various kinds of socio-political cataclysms in the republics of the post-Soviet space close to us. Based on the fact that Belarus has been able to maintain political stability for a long time, probably, a tough approach in this regard is justified. examples that exist in other countries, when officials concurrently own multimillion-dollar fortunes or business empires, and at the same time, do not hesitate to hold the highest government positions, up to the fact that they are presidents of their countries. We do not have such examples, " Shpakovsky added.

how much dishonest directors, officials and officials “take”

Recently, officials and heads of enterprises are increasingly getting into corruption scandals, despite the harsh sanctions in Belarusian legislation - up to 15 years in prison for taking a bribe.

If we analyze the most high-profile corruption cases in April 2018 according to BelTA publications, it turns out that the amount of the bribe is from 5 to 260 thousand rubles, and half of the bribe-takers are the directors of regional enterprises.

Director of the plant in the Gomel region

April 5. The former director of the Zhitkovichi Motor-Building Plant is accused of taking more than $140,000 in bribes.

The Investigative Committee found that the head of the enterprise ensured the victory of the residents of Israel and Germany in the competitions held by the enterprise for illegal monetary rewards. After that, the ex-director signed contracts with them for the purchase of metalworking equipment with a total value of more than $3.5 million.

Deputy Director of Gomelenergo

April 11. According to the investigation, in 2017, the former deputy director for capital construction of the branch of RUE Gomelenergo twice received money as a bribe from the head of the construction site of Anistroyservis LLC.

According to the materials of the case, the briber thus thanked the official for inviting him to participate in the procedure for selecting a contractor and for concluding additional agreements in the interests of the commercial structure, which increased the scope of work and the price of the contract, as well as for making priority payments for the work performed. The total amount of illegally obtained funds amounted to 3.5 thousand rubles.

Officials of enterprises of the agro-industrial complex

April 13. According to the investigation, from July 2016 to April 2017, officials of the enterprises of the agro-industrial complex received bribes for ensuring timely and full payment for the products supplied by the commercial organization - feed additives and veterinary drugs.

Criminal cases were transferred to the prosecutor for referral to the court on charges of: Deputy Director of UE "Minsk Vegetable Factory", General Director of JSC "Slonim Meat Processing Plant", Director of UE "ZhodinoAgroPlemElita", Director of JSC "Smolevichi Ryagroservis", Director of JSC "Vileika Feed Mill", Director of the Unitary Enterprise Borisov Combine of Bakery Products. The amount of bribes in the episodes established by the preliminary investigation amounted to $3.5 thousand rubles.

Director of a dairy plant in the Vitebsk region

14th of April., from February to September 2017, the 51-year-old head of the Orsha Dairy Plant of the enterprise repeatedly accepted money and various inventory items from representatives of four commercial structures for a favorable solution to issues within his competence, as well as for organizing, as a matter of priority, the sale of dairy products to specific firms.

The amount of bribes ranged from $500 to $1.2 thousand. The presentations include cognac, components for BMW X5, Volkswagen Multivan, UAZ Hunter, household appliances, sporting goods. In total, more than ten facts of the transfer of bribes for a total amount of more than 16.4 thousand rubles were established.

Deputy Director of Grodnoenergo

April 18th . Employees of the State Security Committee revealed that from 2014 to September 2017, the deputy director of Grodnoenergo entered into an agreement with a representative of one of the limited liability companies. For bribes, the man informed interested parties about the equipment and its characteristics proposed for purchase, proposals received from other business entities, provided information about the participants and their declared prices. Thus, the head created the conditions for this LLC to become the winner of the procedure. He received about Br14 thousand rubles as bribes.

In addition, being admitted to state secrets, the Deputy General Director made a blueprint of the document, the contents of which belonged to state secrets and constituted an official secret. As a result, a person who does not have the appropriate clearance was familiarized with the contents of the document.

Chairman of the Gomel regional executive committee

19 April. It has been established that since 2015, the former chairman of the Gomel regional executive committee, Alexander Sitnitsa, provided unreasonable benefits and advantages for bribes to various commercial structures in the field of land relations, construction and installation works, and public utilities.

Deputy General Director of OAO Belshina in the Mogilev Region

April 24. The Investigation Department established that the Deputy General Director for Capital Construction of OAO Belshina received a bribe in the amount of 30,000 rubles from the director of the construction organization. It was in this amount that the man valued his services for the favorable resolution of issues related to the conclusion of a contract for the production of dismantling and construction work, as well as the provision of other works to this enterprise at the facilities of the tire plant in the future.

Officials of the Gomel Regional Executive Committee

25th of April. A criminal case has been initiated against the former chairman of the economy committee of the Gomel regional executive committee and other citizens. Officials are suspected of abuse of official powers, which entailed grave consequences.

Last week it became known that 61-year-old Elvira Karnitskaya resigned by agreement of the parties. The regional executive committee said, “There is no crime there,” they write naviny.by.

And you can see what Belarusian officials were detained for in the spring of 2017.

Chapter 11

Alyaksandr Lukashenka often likes to repeat Lenin's hackneyed phrase, which says that the authorities, they say, must defend themselves. To which one always wants to retort, that the government should be elected in an open popular vote. And with this in Belarus there are just huge difficulties.
Thus, according to independent observers, including Russian ones, as well as exit polls, in the last presidential elections in 2015, the turnout of citizens was only 31% of the payroll. In fact, the regime explained the empty polling stations by saying that almost all those who wished had voted early. In fact, only those who are directly dependent on the state budget in one way or another turned out to vote: teachers, doctors, security officials, pensioners, and so on. The overwhelming majority of the country's citizens simply ignored this farce. But more on that later
For now, we must focus on a simple and obvious fact, namely that the Belarusian regime is illegitimate, since it represents no one and nothing, except for a group of heavily armed individuals. Real support for the dictatorship clearly outlines the limits of the number of citizens involved in the processes of illegal enrichment. In total, according to the Belarusian portal TUT.BY, Lukashenka's rating in 2016, against the backdrop of a catastrophic crisis, did not even reach 30%. That is, in essence, we have a person self-appointed for Russian funds, supported by a specific group of selfish people with certain interests. In this chapter, we will examine in detail the main sources of enrichment of the regime, as well as try to identify specific patterns of theft of public funds.
It is known that the retinue makes the king. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine that the dictator of all Belarus directly takes bribes. Because that's what other people are for. Rather, Lukashenka plays the role of a godfather, resolving disputes between rival thieves in law. Since the power in Belarus is more like a mafia group than a legitimate democratic government. And this is despite all sorts of civilized titles and regalia. The political regime of Belarus is a classic paganat, emulating state power in order to enrich a specific group of people. And for this, as you know, all means are good.
Corruption in the Republic is systemic. What does it mean? And this means that corruption chains stretch to the very top. Simply put, the government creates certain schemes for the enrichment of specific structures, through direct decisions and decisions on certain issues. And since there is no legitimate parliament in the country for a long time, there is, in fact, no one to resist the robbery of the economy. Everyone who tried to do something with the system was forced to flee the country, or died under mysterious circumstances.
Each of the individual schemes has a lot of implementation options. And to discover all the facts of corruption, one or two investigative journalists will not be enough. Hundreds of professionals in various fields should deal with materials of this kind. Therefore, it is only in our power to identify the main vectors of corrupt activities, but as experience shows, this will not be all.
So Alexander Lukashenko once said at a meeting of officials that they say, steal while I am in power, but remember that if they remove me, then your heads will roll. Since then, the bureaucracy of the regime has been trying its best, robbing the common man as much as possible. Officials fused with the oligarchs have organized a close criminal community, which, through unauthorized alienation of state property, fills its own pockets.
What does corruption look like in Belarus? After all, from the outside it seems that this country is a place of some kind of prosperity. After all, the traffic police do not take bribes! In fact, everything is much more prosaic. Why do policemen burn small sums when they can provide intermediary services for paperwork and solving transport-related problems? Scandals often arise in the country over the sale of driver's licenses through the traffic police. The last such high-profile case was considered quite recently and was written about in a variety of media. And all because this huge competitive business is a battlefield for intermediaries from state structures for the opportunity to monopolize access to the black market for documents. But these cases are just the tip of the iceberg known as corruption in law enforcement agencies.
So it is a well-known fact, voiced by a number of media outlets, that the employees of the State Security Committee (KGB) are engaged in knocking out debts, in other words, collection services using their connections and official position, and also cover the drug business - the sale of spices, and at the highest level. Such details become known to ordinary citizens of the Republic only due to the fact that tidbits are the subject of a showdown between power groups. And if you are not too lazy and want to know the details of these cases, then just go to Google and find the latest materials on litigation on this topic. Let me remind you again. The task of this chapter is not to determine each specific fact of the robbery of the Belarusian people, our goal, on the basis of published data, is to describe the schemes and principles of unauthorized enrichment of representatives of the Belarusian godfather.
So another popular business among the Belarusian security forces is the sale of alcohol in the dark. The fact is that according to local legislation, from a certain time it is impossible to purchase strong drinks. Therefore, enterprising policemen buy cheap alcohol at sales in hypermarkets and sell it to the afflicted at night for a double price. They squeezed this kind of business from local grandmothers, just like selling good smuggled Russian cigarettes. By the way, about old people. In Belarus, raids and raids are carried out on a regular basis in large cities with the participation of internal troops and special forces to arrest impoverished pensioners who sell various kinds of pickles and preparations in unequipped places, for example, near shops. The militia of Minsk and Baranovichi became especially famous for beating old people. After humiliation and beatings, police officers usually fine the unfortunate grandparents, confiscating all the goods. After that, of course, they gorge themselves on them somewhere at home. This is the reality of the life of ordinary pensioners in the country.
All of the above schemes were made public by the media, but unfortunately they never made it to the tapes of Russian news agencies. Because about a sworn ally, either good or nothing. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Because everyone from simple patrol officers to higher ranks sooner or later finds themselves under the scrutiny of the media, for example, because of the protection of prostitutes. And quite recently, in Minsk, the representatives of the pro-government union of writers were robbed at the police department. Even the status of a sycophant godfather did not protect these people from the employees of the so-called law enforcement agencies, which caused terrible indignation among the victims. Corruption in the country is a common state of affairs, unknown to a wide layman abroad due to the monopolization of the external information field by the dictatorship.
The regime's propaganda convinces viewers that healthcare and education are free in Belarus. But this is a lie. Kindergartens, schools, clinics and hospitals all require payment for their services. That is, on paper, the state allegedly provides them for free, but in fact, extortions for repairs, for some necessary household items, in the same educational institutions take hundreds of dollars from parents every year. And this is not to mention pseudo-free medicine of a dubious level. Again, everything is fine on paper, but many who are faced with serious operations should give directly to intermediaries of surgeons from 1000 USD for a successful result. And this is in a country where the salary is only some 150 USD! Of course, doctors are people too. And they deserve much more for their work. But in the absence of market relations, specialists are obliged to somehow compensate with bribes for miserable incomes that are incomparable with the complexity of work.
But still, other services, for example, separate paid chambers, require additional payment. That is, in simple terms, in order to use certain medical services according to the state price list, you need to pay a bribe for this. That is, you pay twice, officially to the regime and to intermediaries. The same applies to technical inspection of cars, the successful completion of which costs the driver, including municipal, state transport, in the amount of 25 to 50 USD, depending on the type of car. This series of small schemes can be continued indefinitely. But this is not our task. After all, the fish, as you know, rots from the head, although they clean it from the tail. The enemy of a simple Belarusian is a ruddy official with connections or relatives in the government, who creates legislative schemes for the theft of Russian subsidies. And according to the current laws of the pahanat, they have every opportunity for this. Therefore, no one has the right to blame the people for the fact that they use their official position for their needs, when the government has everything in its snout.
A common Belarusian joke says that if you want to steal, then steal in the president's team. Therefore, the main direction of state corruption is the area of ​​production and import of goods. For example, the well-known law on import substitution, blindly copied by Russia, has freed the hands of pro-government corrupt officials. Back in 2009, a user of the Onliner.by website exposed the Integral plant for re-gluing stickers on Chinese Acer monitors, passing them off as manufactured in the Republic. And if you think that a projectile does not fall twice into one funnel, then you are mistaken. In 2012, there was another import substitution scandal, but this time Benq monitors were counterfeited. Moreover, an investigation conducted by independent journalists revealed a number of very curious facts. These monitors under the Solidate trademark were sold in the Republic under a valid STB certificate, but without the signature of the responsible person. It turned out that traces of the scandal lead directly to the Minister of Commerce. But despite the evidence found, the founding documents of the company disappeared somewhere. In any case, already a former minister, he continues to testify for the creation of such schemes. After all, monitors were supplied even to the KGB.
Import substitution is generally a separate and very painful corruption scheme. The fact is that according to Belarusian laws, any equipment produced in the Republic has an advantage over imported ones. Simply put, if you sell even the cheapest and very high-quality analogue, all the same, organizations will be obliged to purchase what they will be foisted at three expensive prices, allegedly from those assembled in Belarus. Just recently, one local research institute burned down on this, passing off Russian machine tools as domestic ones. So, in order to create the appearance of an active scientific process, scientists entered into fictitious contracts with private structures to carry out complex research work and supply components. Simply put, they sawed state subsidies and subsidies. Therefore, one should not be surprised that Belarus allegedly produces everything from portable radio stations to its own cartridges for printers. After all, these are only Chinese goods with re-glued labels and fake certificates. At one time, the Integral plant even planned to sell Belarusian HP laptops with its own sticker, but at the time it abandoned such an initiative. In the same row stood the sensational Chinese minibuses with the MAZ logo, the assembly of which was also stopped. But this does not mean that there are no other effective schemes for import substitution of goods. After all, there is no getting away from the fact that the Chinese telecommunications equipment ZTE, which is monopoly imposed on state structures, also does not become Belarusian just because of the presence of another sticker.
The transition to digital television in the country also led experts to a number of reflections. The fact is that, along with the usual products of the Vityaz and Horizon factories, Chinese Sky Tech set-top boxes appeared in almost all stores in the country. So that you understand what is at stake. Digital state television transmits a signal to a special antenna, which is connected to a device that decodes the received information and sends it to the TV. But in order to gain access to the monopoly market, it was necessary to pass certification in time, invest a sufficient amount of money in the firmware of tens of thousands of such devices specifically for Belarusian digital channels, and then also distribute them to state retail chains. Which looks very doubtful, bearing in mind the realities there, especially for a modest private unitary enterprise.
The Belarusian economic system is literally permeated with corruption schemes and dubious intermediary state structures. And how can one not recall here direct government decrees that allow, bypassing the so-called tender legislation, to help someone, to do good business in the sale of imposed services? But in order for you to understand what is at stake, you need to make a small digression. Back in 2014, the state company Minsktrans, which is responsible for the city's municipal transport of the capital, held a tender for the purchase and installation of an electronic travel equipment system. Simply put, bus conductors have been replaced by payment terminals. Immediately after that, a serious scandal broke out, competitors who lost the tender reported that each validator on the bus costs 722 USD, that is, it has the price of an IPhone smartphone. During the investigation, it was found that the subsidiary and parent companies NII EVMservice, which is part of the IBA group of companies, actually participated in the tender, which called into question the quality of the tender procedure. After this scandal, some high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Transport resigned, after which, two years later, the entire management of the IBA Group was placed under arrest. Whether this is related to validators is difficult to say, but the facts, as they say, are on the face. So why such a presentation? And to the fact that if the decision to purchase such devices was formalized by a decision of the government, the participants in this story would have expected absolutely nothing. But, unfortunately, the parties to this purchase did not think of this before.
In Belarus, there are a number of incomprehensible structures of a self-supporting organization. What does it mean? Officially, these are state-owned enterprises of an indefinite strange form of ownership. One of these structures is called the Information and Publishing Center for Taxes and Duties, the founder of which is, for a moment, the Ministry of Taxes and Duties of the Republic. This organization is a haven for retired at 45 or laid-off employees of the KGC, the Ministry of Taxes and other bodies.
So what else is famous for this office? And the fact that it is engaged in the provision of monopoly services on the basis of direct government decrees. For example, the development and implementation of an automated tax payment system, cryptographic software or, more simply, an electronic digital signature, the publication of the magazines Taxes of Belarus and the Entrepreneur's Consultant, which cannot be refused and where there are certain family ties, retail trade of strict reporting forms, vending machine control systems , control systems of cash equipment and so on. In general, all these services are carried out by the structures of the Information and Publishing Center. Which led the experts to a number of legitimate questions. For example, for what such achievements has this organization been awarded the right to a monopoly on all types of these services, bypassing the country's tender legislation? On what basis are prices formed if an electronic digital signature carrier costs less than 1 USD in China, and is sold for 20 USD in the country? And who exactly is behind the decisions made? There are no answers to these questions yet, just as there are no answers to why a certain joint closed joint-stock company Center for Fixing Offenses was awarded a monopoly right from the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus to control over speeding and notifications of fines to drivers. Once again, so you understand what the whole point is. A certain structure without an open tender whose founder and shareholders are unknown, has a state monopoly on the right to record speeding and send fines to car owners. Isn't it an amazing situation?
And this is only a small fraction of corruption at the highest state level. Thanks to the unauthorized decisions of the illegitimate government, a series of cabals for friends, colleagues, relatives and acquaintances has been organized, providing them with profitable work. All this places an unbearable burden on the shoulders of the economically active part of the population. After all, all these requisitions turn into an additional cost of goods and services, thereby providing additional inflation rates. Because taxes and penalties in a healthy economy are taken from profits, and not shifted from one pocket to another. The creation of monopoly services imposed by the government led to systemic corruption in all areas of the Belarusian economy, which brought it to a natural collapse.
On February 15-16, 2017, protests against the regime took place in three more large cities: Brest, Baranovichi and Vitebsk. To the slogans about the abolition of the poverty tax, demands were also added for the resignation of Lukashenka, holding free elections, as well as the fight against corruption. Against this background, the government is stubbornly trying to negotiate with Russia on gas, the debt for which is more than $500 million at the time of this writing. And at the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus is probing communication channels with the EU for the lifting of sanctions imposed due to systematic violations of human rights: torture, kidnapping, beatings of people, uninvestigated murders of opposition leaders, journalists, thieves in law, and so on. It is important to note that the latest actions in the regions of Belarus in 2011 were brutally dispersed by law enforcement agencies. Not only the protesters suffered, but also pensioners, pregnant women and other random people who fell under the hot hand of the rampant state Makhnovshchina.
And now, despite the babayki about Ukraine, crowds of angry citizens again took to the streets of provincial cities. But this time there were more of them than usual. In Bobruisk alone, 1,500 people took to the square against the decree on poverty, which is unheard of in the province.
As is known from the theoretical calculations of the philosopher Toffler and Professor Fukuyama, power in the modern world is based on three pillars: violence, money and legitimacy. But unlike democratic ones, dictatorial regimes never have a third component, which is the reason for their collapse. Before the fall, any dictator had official approval ratings of 80% or more. This issue is analyzed in detail in the book "Pahanat as a political system". So, on January 24, 2017, Lukashenka told the Minister of Internal Affairs of Belarus Shunevich, who, by the way, was born in Luhansk: - “Please add salaries, buy official property, weapons, and so on. It will continue to be so: everything that you cut will remain with you Plus, I'll double that figure and add it."
Simply put, we have seen how, against the backdrop of a catastrophic crisis, the theoretical calculations of American professors come true. Namely, as soon as the regime ran out of money, it automatically relied on the only tool it had left - violence. This is the very moment of the phase transition, when the poor and hungry people are no longer able to endure requisitions and humiliation, and the regime has no external sources of funding and support in the face of the Russian Federation.
When 19 Belarusian companies were discovered in the British Virgin Islands in 2013, ICIJ investigative journalists were somewhat surprised. The fact is that, according to the legislation of the Republic, citizens do not have the right to open offshore companies without the direct permission of the Central Bank. Simply put, no one can withdraw money from the country without the permission of the Lukashenka administration. After an investigation undertaken by independent journalists, it turned out that offshore companies belong to pro-government oligarchs or their relatives. Even the well-known Wargaming, the company that created the cult network game Tanks, appeared on the Virgin Islands. Why is this episode so important? And the fact is that all the above-mentioned companies did not suffer any sanctions. Moreover, after the information was made public, they simply changed their names and continued their work.
The same thing happened with the Panama offshores, hacked in 2016. Another 98 Belarusians with 35 companies were registered there, including one Alexander Lukashenko, a resident of the Moscow region. The lists of money laundering schemes contain the names of oligarchs close to the regime. It is known that they also did not suffer any sanctions due to the publication of this information. And from this we can conclude that a total of 54 companies withdraw money from Belarus with the direct permission of the Central Bank to dubious gray tax-free zones. It is worth recalling that for such offenses in the EU countries, the USA, Canada, Australia and a number of others, prison terms are provided under the articles "tax evasion" and "money laundering".
Unfortunately, everyone in Belarus knows about this, but no one reacts, because the theft of budgetary and other funds came from profits, and therefore, not quite directly from the pockets of ordinary citizens. When Lukashenka introduced a tax on poverty for at least 200-250 thousand unemployed in 2016, according to the official figure of Belstat, he crossed the Rubicon. The money withdrawn offshore went to the oligarchs and their relatives, but the current functioning of the regime was placed on the shoulders of impoverished and starving Belarusians.
Therefore, when the Russian Federation began to build a border with the Republic, many experts were not surprised. Because the flow of dubious contraband flowing out of the country in the form of re-glued stickers on goods left no other choice. You need to understand that such a business, if I may say so, is commonplace for Belarus. And it should also be understood that smuggling without the participation of state structures and high-ranking officials cannot exist due to the characteristics of the mafia system. Indeed, in addition to repackaging dairy products, meat, vegetables, fruits, complex household goods, it is necessary to obtain Belarusian certificates and accompanying documents for this. And as shown by the above story with monitors, machine tools, laptops, if only they would not be given out to anyone.
But that's not all. Corruption in Belarus, given out to the common people under the sauce of some state property, has long passed into the category of brazen robbery, which has not been seen in Russia since the mid-nineties of the last century. The fact is that according to Belarusian laws adopted by the puppet appointed parliament, local authorities can take away land allotments and plots from ordinary citizens simply on the basis that a person has not visited this place for more than three weeks a year, or, for example, because some pro-government one liked the land developer.
For you to understand. Lukashenka banned private ownership of land and allowed construction in the water protection area, where they did not build even in tsarist times, not to mention Soviet times. What does it mean? And this means, no matter how huge and beautiful your house is, if the land on which it is located has caught the eye of snickering state oligarchic raiders from construction contractors - expect trouble.
So plots in the capital of the Republic and large cities, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in themselves in a normal economic situation, are taken from people who have lived there for several generations. With the help of physical violence on the basis of decisions of executive committees not elected by anyone. In exchange for the squeezed land and houses, cheap huts are given out in the outskirts of the city. Independent media of the country have repeatedly written about cases when residents did not even have time to pack their things, as their houses were demolished, clothes, furniture, household appliances and, of course, memories were leveled to the ground. Builders often deliberately undermine the foundation of residents who do not agree to move, destroying the building in every possible way, forcing people to leave their homes. The police are watching all of this. The law enforcement agencies, apparently, are in the share of such raider seizures of urban lands. Since no one has ever initiated even imitation of criminal investigations into the forcible seizure of land by developers under the roof of executive committees.
And once, before Lukashenka's visit to Mogilev, an entire village was demolished under the city so that it would not spoil the view from the limousine window. These are today's realities of the Republic hushed up by Russian and foreign media. The tragedies of little people are of no interest to anyone until they grow into a revolution. After that, observers will surely shrug their shoulders, sincerely wondering why this silent people rebelled.
Belarus is the land of lakes. Around them, for thousands of years, villages were erected and cities were built. But even the ancients did not think of such savagery, to which the money-hungry regime came. In villages that have existed near the water for hundreds of years, they suddenly allowed building in the water protection zone, that is, in other words, on the shore. And the inhabitants of local settlements once discovered with surprise how the destruction of the beaches begins, where they have been swimming and fishing for generations, right next to the village houses. It is clear that the construction is carried out mainly not by local residents, but by visiting Russians, which causes ferment on a national basis and misunderstanding. For example, many new owners are starting to build blind fences near water bodies, which is not customary in Belarus.
Therefore, speaking about systemic corruption in the country, you need to understand. It makes no sense to take bribes when you can issue a law or a government decree and receive dividends, subsidies from ordinary people like wool from sheep shearing. The fact is that when someone from the nouveau riche of the regime gets accustomed to some kind of property, he will definitely get it. This happened with a number of profitable OJSCs, including stores that, by some miracle, kept the shares in the hands of the collectives.
Officials from the presidential administration directly pressed and intimidated workers and employees so that by hook or by crook they sold shares to the right people. More than one Russian oligarch could not dream of such raider seizures. After all, one decree or government decree is enough, as huge pieces of once private property are stolen from the common man. Therefore, when corrupt experts say, they say, there is socialism in Belarus, they blatantly lie. The Republic has a classic pahanat with elements of the state, but not a legitimate political system.
We have only schematically outlined a small fraction of the well-known corruption schemes in the country, officially called state property. In subsequent chapters, we will touch on other episodes of cutting the budget under the guise of some fictitious necessity more than once. Summing up the above, we can conclude that the social revolution in Belarus is not a product of the work of Western intelligence services or a conspiracy of aliens, but a direct consequence of the theft of Russian subsidies and subsidies for at least twenty years, while completely ignoring all ordinary citizens.

In February 2018, the Minister of Sports and Tourism and the Minister of Forestry were removed from office by the President. Both - with the wording "for failure to take effective measures to combat corruption and economic offenses in subordinate organizations."

In particular, a corruption scheme was discovered in the forestry sector, according to which, during the year, high-quality wood was documented as substandard and illegally exported. In this case, two entrepreneurs and 12 officials of the system of the Ministry of Forestry were detained.

Corruption crimes were also revealed in the Minsk Sports Palace. Its leader took bribes from those who wanted to rent space to sell goods. “It got to the point that the nuns came to sell candles, and he clung to them,” the head of state revealed the details of the case. After this incident, they began to observe the head of the Sports Palace. As a result, numerous cases of bribery were recorded.

OSHMYAN CUSTOMS

In the summer of 2017, an end was put to the criminal case of the Oshmyany customs officers. According to investigators, for five years, customs officers took bribes for allowing trucks with goods to cross the border without hindrance. The amount of illegal monetary rewards ranged from $250 to $3 thousand. As a result, 16 people were accused of taking and giving bribes.

The trial went on for eight months. Basically, the defendants in the case received from 5 to 8 years in prison with confiscation of property. The most severe punishment was received by the former customs officer, businessman Garnik Sarumyants - 11.6 years in a penal colony.

HEAD OF SOLIGORSK

In May 2017, the chairman of the Soligorsk regional executive committee was detained while receiving a bribe. According to investigators, the official has been abusing power and official authority for a long time when deciding on the purchase of plant protection products, seeds and spare parts for agricultural machinery of agro-industrial enterprises and organizations of the Soligorsk region. According to the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he systematically received bribes from representatives of commercial structures for resolving issues of priority repayment of debts of local agricultural enterprises on invoices for supplied products.

At the same time, the ex-official himself did not admit his guilt at the trial and stated that the case against him was falsified.

BELKOOPSOYUZ

In April 2017, the Investigative Committee detained one of the leaders of Belkoopsoyuz, a major trade operator, on suspicion of corruption. It is interesting that this is far from the first mention of high-profile officials of Belcoopsoyuz in high-profile corruption cases. In 2015, the ex-head of Belkoopsoyuz, Sergei Sidko, received 12 years in prison with confiscation of property, a fine of 500 basic units and deprivation of the right to hold positions related to the performance of organizational and administrative duties for five years. Sidko was accused of taking bribes and abuse of power.

Ministry of Emergency Situations

In September 2017, hearings on the case of former Deputy Minister for Emergency Situations Dmitry Begun began at the Zavodsky Court of Minsk. The bribe that he was accused of was not large compared to other corruption stories. But the case thundered throughout the country thanks to the president.

At a meeting with workers in Mogilev, the head of state noted: “I took bribes. Everyone was taken on the spot. Why take offense at me? Everyone is the same before the law: both the minister and the deputy minister. Shines for at least 8 years. Soon, the court actually sentenced Begun to eight years in prison with confiscation of property.

AS At THEM?

AT Singapore, In a country where corruption is at a low level, the Bureau of Corruption Investigation conducts the hunt for bribe-takers. It was not afraid to check even the Prime Minister and his relatives. The bureau was instructed to focus on large bribe-takers in the highest echelons of power. If an official lived beyond his means, this fact alone was allowed to be interpreted by the courts as evidence that he took bribes.

AT Hong Kong The authorities have established an Independent Anti-Corruption Commission. One of the laws established a presumption of guilt for officials whose expenses exceed official income. To exclude the possibility of corruption penetrating the commission itself, its employees were given high salaries, and public committees were entrusted with supervision of their activities.

AT Jordan in one day, 10 traffic police officers were detained, seduced by a bribe. They were fired from their jobs and given five years in prison. A month later, the raid was repeated, and the bribe-takers were again caught. For the third time, no one took the money - all the "traffic cops" were madly frightened. In the same way, officials were arrested, to whom disguised "businessmen" appeared, offering solid bonuses for the construction of restaurants in popular places. The bribe-takers who took the bait ended up in prison with detailed coverage of the case on television. Civil servants began to be afraid to take bribes - they seemed to be agents of the Anti-Corruption Commission everywhere.

AT China but for corruption and bribes on an especially large scale, you can even get a bullet in the back of the head.

FACTS

Belarus has risen from 79th to 68th place in the Corruption Perceptions Index. With a final score of 44, the country shared the position with Jamaica and Oman. This is reported by the international movement to combat corruption Transparency International.

The leaders and outsiders of the index over the past few years have remained unchanged: the first places are occupied by New Zealand (89 points), Denmark (88 points), Finland, Norway and Switzerland (85 points each). The rating is closed by Somalia (9 points) and South Sudan (12 points).

Neighboring Russia and Ukraine are ranked 135th and 130th respectively. Poland ranks 36th, Lithuania and Latvia 39th and 40th.

Belarus made a serious leap in 2016 - from 107th to 79th place. The rating measures the Public Sector Corruption Perceptions Index of 180 states and is ranked on a scale from 0 (severely corrupt) to 100 (no corruption at all). According to the rating methodology, a zero value in the index corresponds to the maximum possible level of corruption, and a hundred to the minimum.

Transparency International compiles its index using regularly published studies of a number of international organizations - the World Bank, Freedom House, the Bertelsmann Foundation and others. Each of these studies analyzes a separate aspect: investment risks, freedom of speech, standard of living, complexity of doing business, but all of them in one way or another touch upon the issues of corruption.

“Shameful and sad. Became a manifestation of corruption.” The defendants of the “doctors’ case” made the last word55 December 20, 2019 at 13:54Today in the Minsk City Court, the defendants of the "mass case of doctors" made their last word. It took several minutes for someone to address the court, the speech of one of the businessmen lasted almost two hours.

“I took bribes for chemotherapy.” Lawyers ask for leniency towards the defendants in the “medical case”21 December 17, 2019 at 05:10 pmDefenders say that the defendants gave money to the functionaries as a thank you, regardless of the deals made.

Debate on the “medical case”: “How severe should be the punishment if you wanted to help the terminally ill”6 December 16, 2019 at 04:23 pmToday in the Minsk City Court, the debate of the parties on the high-profile "case of doctors" continues. Lawyers are speaking.

The trial on the "case of doctors" - over the director of "Belmedtekhnika", who was found to have 620 thousand dollars, was closed56 December 12, 2019 at 04:56 pmToday in the Minsk City Court a preliminary hearing on another "case of doctors" has begun.

“Corruption permeates the entire vertical.” Prosecutors ask for deadlines for "mass case of doctors"101 December 11, 2019 at 02:38 pmAccording to investigators, corruption schemes existed in organizations subordinate to the Ministry of Health for 12 years.

"I've been slandered." Shakutin is accused of passing bribes in a cafe that did not exist at the time66 December 4, 2019 at 05:44 pmThe process, in which 20 accused appear, has been going on for three months. Employees of the healthcare system are charged with taking bribes, businessmen with giving bribes.

The court returned the arrested money to the convicted doctor, academician Beletsky - more than 550 thousand dollars263 December 3, 2019 at 10:20 amToday, the Minsk City Court has again returned to the criminal case of the scientist, academician, State Prize winner, well-known doctor Alexander Beletsky. He was found guilty of accepting a bribe on an especially large scale and sentenced to 7.5 years in prison. Now Alexander Valentinovich is serving his sentence in IK-3 (Vitba).

6 years in prison. The court announced the verdict to the head of the department of the Ministry of Health, who was responsible for medicines120 November 29, 2019 at 10:14 amThe court of the Frunzensky district of Minsk found Lyudmila Reutskaya guilty of taking bribes and fraud. In her last word, she asked to be punished for what she accepted - gifts in the form of sweets and flowers. As for the money, Reutskaya insists from the first day of her detention: she never took it.

"I'm afraid for my life." Former head of the department of the Ministry of Health Reutskaya gave the last word in court68 November 18, 2019 at 03:27 pmToday in the court of the Frunzensky district of Minsk, the former head of the department of the pharmaceutical inspection and the organization of drug provision of the Ministry of Health, Lyudmila Reutskaya, delivered the last word. The court retired to the deliberation room.

"Priority - to domestic producers." Deputy Minister spoke in court on the "case of physicians"57 November 16, 2019 at 12:54 pmDuring an interrogation in court, Deputy Minister of Health Vyacheslav Shilo told how drugs are registered and why priority is given to Belarusian drugs.

"The chair and the fan are confiscated." The prosecutor requested 7 years in prison for the ex-head of the Ministry of Health61 November 15, 2019 at 12:16 pmThe prosecutor asked to recognize her guilty under Parts 2 and 3 of Art. 430 of the Criminal Code (Receiving a bribe on an especially large scale), part 1 of Art. 209 of the Criminal Code (Fraud) and give 7 years in prison.

“How can I prove that I did not take bribes?” The head of the department of the Ministry of Health emotionally spoke in court147 November 12, 2019 at 03:24 pmAfter a short break, the trial in the case of the head of the department of the Ministry of Health, Lyudmila Reutskaya, resumed again. The day before, the prosecutor's office brought her a new charge: she is not only charged with taking bribes on an especially large scale, but also with fraud.

“Why don’t you remember how many times the GUBOP came to the pre-trial detention center?” The briber in the Reutskaya case was interrogated for 6 days48 October 24, 2019 at 03:11 pmThe key witness in the case of the head of the department of the Ministry of Health, Lyudmila Reutskaya, changed her testimony more than once during the investigation, wrote confessions, complaints to the prosecutor, and then refused them. As Larisa Rubtsova herself said in court during interrogation, she changed four lawyers until she found the right one. After spending two months in jail, Rubtsova was released on bail and even managed to go on a business trip to Paris and Warsaw. Shortly before the trial, her status was changed: from accused for giving a bribe to a witness.

Businessman Sergei Shakutin, who remained silent under investigation and spent more than a year in a pre-trial detention center, spoke in court90 October 17, 2019 at 13:57On the first day of the process, the director of the Iskamed company, Sergei Shakutin, said: "I do not admit guilt." He refused to testify during the preliminary investigation and became the only businessman to remain behind bars pending trial. The rest of the preventive measure was changed to house arrest. In the Minsk City Court, Shakutin told why he did not have to give a bribe to other defendants, about his “principled position to be honest” and why he believes that he was slandered.

The person involved in the “doctors’ case” was filmed on a hidden camera for six months80 October 16, 2019 at 12:53 pmToday in the Minsk City Court they are showing operational-search materials on the high-profile “medical case”. As it turned out, in the office of the director of the Center for Expertise and Testing in Healthcare, Alexander Stolyarov, a hidden camera and audio recording had been installed since November 2017, he was handcuffed for a week in May 2018.

The prosecutor asked for 6 years in prison for the former deputy minister of health35 October 15, 2019 at 06:09 pmValery Shevchuk does not plead guilty to any of the charges. He believes that a donated iPhone and a leather briefcase are not a scam or a bribe, but a gift. The prosecution has a different opinion.