Belarusian court arrests property of defendants in Vtyurin case

The Supreme Court of Belarus continues to consider a high-profile corruption case, the defendants of which are 16 people. Among them are the former head of the Presidential Security Service, who served as deputy secretary of the Security Council Andrei Vturin, as well as former employees of the National Bank, Beltelecom and other government agencies. Read about the high-profile corruption case: the KGB of Belarus completed the investigation of corruption in Beltelecom and the Security Council. In the non-state press, the high-profile process is known as the Vtyurin case. The state news agency BelTA calls it a banker's case and reports on the court's decision to additionally seize the property of the defendants, which was not imposed during pre-trial proceedings. The list of property includes $20 thousand, bonds worth $377 thousand and 5 thousand euros, which were seized from the chairman of the board of OJSC Belarusian Interbank Settlement Center Felix Kasperovich. He is accused of receiving bribes in the total amount of at least $868.75 thousand together with Andrei Podgorny, deputy head of the main information technology department of the National Bank of Belarus. The list includes $719 thousand belonging to Podgorny, 7.5 thousand euros and 10 ingots of gold of 100 g each. The document for the seizure of property also includes more than 21 thousand euros and $470 thousand for the general director of the Belarusian state monopolist Beltelecom Sergey Sivodedova. It also features $209.8 thousand and more than 25 thousand euros discovered by Vturin. Vturin stated that 25.6 thousand euros and $30 thousand were taken by his wife under a loan agreement, asking to take into account that this money was obtained legally. Hearings in a high-profile criminal case continued in the Verkhoavny court of Belarus on March 10. Meetings are held in the courthouse of the Moscow district of Minsk. Read the story news: Corruption and the fight against it Recall, the deputy head of the Security Council of Belarus Andrei Vturin was arrested in the spring of 2019. Officially, he was charged with receiving a large bribe when concluding transactions on the supply of equipment and software to government agencies, primarily RUP Beltelecom. However, the pro-Western opposition promoted the version of Vturin's discussion at a meeting with Russian ambassador Mikhail Babich of the scenario after Lukashenko. The version was not confirmed, but there was a reason to twist the nuts and implement the mobilization scenario in preparation for the 2020 presidential campaign.