Belarusian CEC did not register Babariko presidential candidate
Victor Babariko / Youtube.com
Central election Commission of Belarus refused to register a presidential candidate, the former head of Belgazprombank Victor Babariko, which was considered the main rival of the incumbent President of the country Alexander Lukashenko in the upcoming elections
The Central Commission of the Republic of Belarus
Central election Commission of Belarus refused to register a presidential candidate, the former head of Belgazprombank Victor Babariko, which was considered the main rival of the incumbent President of the country Alexander Lukashenko in the upcoming elections. The Chairman of the Central election Commission Lidziya Yarmoshyna stated that the CEC received a letter from the state control Committee (SCC) of Belarus, which refers to the illegal activities of Babariko and illegally received income not reflected in the Declaration.
Ermoshina said that Declaration of income of Babariko there are “only three inconsistencies” and in some places a small amount of reduced income. It had no effect on the fact of registration and is a minor bug with the “light of his annual income.” However, the Declaration of Babariko “not reflected in his actual ownership and use of tangible assets and real property, and income from activities of a number of controlled Belarusian commercial structures”, quoted by RIA “Novosti”.
According to the SCC, Babariko “led a criminal group that laundered the money” and received financial assistance from abroad. Such deemed participation in the initiative group of Babariko employees of OJSC “Belgazprombank”, whose shareholders are the Russian Gazprom and Gazprombank, reports “Interfax”. The head of the CEC noted that “Belagazprombank” more than 99% belongs to “Gazprom” and “Gazprombank”, that is “almost entirely foreign enterprise”.
According to Yarmoshyna, Babariko used by “BGB” after the dismissal, and employees of financial institutions worked on his campaign during work hours, using the Bank’s funds, in violation of the law. The CEC head also read out the data of the security forces on the withdrawal of funds to Cyprus, Lithuania and Latvia. “I can only joke: bribes-tax returns are not reflected”, – quotes Yarmoshyna “KP-Belarus”.
“Everything we heard today is very strange. Any documents we do not see,” – told reporters after the CEC meeting, the lawyer of a staff of Babariko Maxim Sign. “The government is so weak that did not allow [the elections] even behind the bars of Babariko”, – said the representative of the headquarters Maria Kolesnikova (quoted by Tut.by).
Victor Babariko detained together with his son Edward, on 18 June, charged with money laundering, tax evasion and bribery repeatedly or on a large scale. Edward Babariko accused of tax evasion in especially large size. Father and son are in custody. Belarusian state channel ONT has released a series of “investigations” about it Babariko and “Belgazprombank”. One of them States that “the Bank was a tool for the enrichment of its leadership” and the result “has irrefutable evidence of the involvement of all defendants in a criminal case for alleged crimes.”
Lawyer Dmitry Laevsky Babariko called the accusations absurd. “The recipe is simple movie: gag order (taken from protection, making it difficult to rebuttal), installation (in fact there are so many uncomfortable moments for the movie), narration (intended to eliminate the doubts of those who used to believe and unaccustomed to think)”, – he commented in his Facebook. The defender noted that “when enough evidence to show the movie there is no need. Time the movies appeared, the worthless script.”
In a news release dated July 13, ONT reported that in the Central office of Belagroprombank in Minsk allegedly worked for a long time “black cash” through which the administration pursued closed transactions, including those through which it is possible to legalize illegally obtained revenue.
In addition to Victor Babariko and the current head of Belarus, the documents for registration of presidential candidates filed seven people: Andrey Dmitriev, Anna Konopacka, wife of the arrested opposition blogger Sergei Tikhanovski Svetlana Tikhanovski, Valery Tsepkalo and Sergey Cerecer.
Tsepkalo refused registration on the ground that after verification, the CEC collected the signatures required was less than one hundred thousand. The other candidates registered.