A criminal complaint against Lukashenko is filed to the German federal prosecutor’s office; the G7 calls on the Belarusian authorities to hold new presidential elections under international supervision; the illegitimate government makes money on smuggling and withdraws funds from the state budget to offshore accounts
5 May 2021 | Voice of Belarus
A criminal complaint against Lukashenko was filed to the German federal prosecutor’s office
According to the German news agency DPA, four German lawyers on behalf of ten Belarusians filed a claim to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office of Germany to initiate a criminal case against Alexander Lukashenko. The claim was filed in connection with the use of violence against civilians in Belarus against the background of peaceful protests that began after the presidential elections in August 2020.
In the claim, the lawyers refer to the so-called universal jurisdiction, within which it is possible to prosecute for crimes prohibited by international law, including those committed in other countries.
The process of filing a complaint against a crime against humanity was initiated by the Belarusian diaspora in Germany. “This is the first step towards the inevitable recognition of Lukashenko’s regime as a terrorist organization with all ensuing consequences,” a representative of the Belarusian diaspora in Germany said.
The G7 countries have called on Lukashenko to hold new presidential elections under international supervision
Foreign Ministers of the G7 countries considered the Belarusian issue during their meeting in London. They called on Lukashenko to hold new presidential elections under international supervision, demanded an end to illegal violence and the release of all political prisoners.
Three large consignments of contraband cigarettes were seized by the Polish and Lithuanian customs officers
In Poland, a batch of 653,000 packs of Belarusian cigarettes worth $ 2.5 million was seized by the customs. According to the consignment documents, the cargo was mineral wool. The driver managed to cross the Belarusian-Lithuanian border without any problems, but the cargo was seized by the Polish customs officers at the border with Lithuania.
In Lithuania, the customs seized two consignments at once. One of them contained 350,000 packs of cigarettes worth € 980,000. In the other, 30,500 packs of cigarettes worth € 112,000 were hidden in a truck transporting fertilizers by Belaruskali.
All seized cigarettes were produced by the Grodno tobacco factory Neman.
Belarus is the main supplier of illegal cigarettes to the European Union and to Russia, and the contraband volumes increase every year. According to the investigation by BELSAT, tobacco smuggling by private persons accounts for a small percentage of the overall illegal export of Belarusian cigarettes. The main bulk is exported on an industrial scale with active support by the authorities and deliberate inaction of the law enforcement agencies.
The main beneficiary of this smuggling scheme is one of Lukashenko’s family “wallets” Aliaksei Aleksin who controls sales from the state tobacco factory Neman and also owns his own cigarette factory.
Valery Tsepkalo: “Lukashenko steals money from Belarusians”
Valery Tsepkalo released a short investigation film on how Lukashenko’s family withdraws funds from the state budget to offshore accounts.
According to Tsepkalo, the losses of the largest Belarusian state-owned enterprises are not caused by the economic crisis, but by the large-scale withdrawal of capital funds which accelerated after the events of August 2020. On the example of corruption schemes in the activities of the beCloud data center, Tsepkalo demonstrated how about half a billion dollars did not make it into the state budget of Belarus.
“While the regime withdraws the last money from Belarus, naive fools are inactive or defend the illusion of stability and the most brazen unscrupulous thief of today. Their current actions directly threaten the country’s independence and the prospects for its development,” Tsepkalo said.
