Belarus detains top managers of Belgazprombank for money laundering

MINSK/MOSCOW, Jun 15 (PRIME) – Belarus has detained the top managers of Belgazprombank, a bank controlled by Russian gas giant Gazprom and Gazprombank, including deputy CEOs and heads of different departments in a money laundering case, Iven Tertel, chairman of the State Control Committee, told reporters on June 12.

On June 11, a representative of the committee told PRIME that the investigative authorities were searching the headquarters of Belgazprombank under a criminal case of tax avoidance and money laundering. Viktor Babariko, who is currently running for the office of Belarusian president, was the CEO of Belgazprombank for 20 years.

“These are top managers, including deputy CEOs, directors of different levels, and representatives of commercial companies that are mainly former employees of the bank,” Tertel said as quoted by Belarusian news agency BelTA.

The law enforcers detained 15 people under the case, he said.

An organized criminal group allegedly worked in the bank, stripping its assets and putting them abroad. The committee previously sent requests to foreign countries, and received a response in December 2019. The information in the response allowed the committee’s financial investigation department to launch searches in the bank and find evidence that the people were part of a criminal ring and stripped assets, Tertel said.

The Belarusian authorities have proof that Babariko was involved in criminal activity, because deputy CEOs’ illegal operations were of such a scope that the CEO had to be aware of that, he said.

Gazprom said in a statement that the actions against Belgazprombank violate the laws of Belarus and interests of the bank’s Russian shareholders.

“Gazprombank and Gazprom as shareholders of Belgazprombank say that the management of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus made illegal actions on June 11, 2020 and appointed acting CEO and acting deputy CEO of Belgazprombank in violation of legislation of the Republic of Belarus. These appointments were accompanied by detentions of authorized members of the management board of Belgazprombank by the law enforcement authorities of Belarus,” the statement read.

The actions violate the rights of Russian shareholders, as well as interests of clients and depositors of the bank. The shareholders will take all legal action possible to protect their rights, and they are taking measures in order to ensure financial stability of the bank, Gazprom said.

Gazprom and Gazprombank own 49.8% in Belgazprombank each, while the State Property Committee of Belarus has 0.097%.

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