23.12.2010 10:12

http://www.thenews.pl/international/artykul146089_wikileaks---lukashenkos-goodfellas-laundering-money-through-poland.html

A 2007 cable sent from the US embassy in Minsk confirms allegations that individuals close to President Lukashenko are involved in money laundering through Poland and other “corrupt practices”, but that their close contacts with the Belarusian head of state “virtually guarantee them protection from prosecution”.

The telegram marked ‘confidential’ recounts allegations in the Belaruskiy Partizan daily that Yuri Sivakov  a former Belarusian interior minister and Dmitry Pavlichenko, the commander of Lukashenko’s personal security unit, were involved in a “customs house racket” involving the transportation of food and appliances.

Both the above men, known to have close ties with President Lukashenko – whose victory in last Sunday’s elections have been widely derided internationally as being rigged – are on the US visa-ban and asset ban list for their alleged involvement in the disappearances of opposition leaders in 1999 and 2000.

Much of the money laundered through Poland comes from the exploits of Colonel Dmitry Pavlichenko, who the cable says allegedly operates a “death squad”, under direct command of Lukashenko.

The squad is involved in a protection racket which generates a lot of money from bribes.

The money is then circulated through a front company called Chyest, which the cable says is “transferring approximately 1.5 million US dollars daily to financial institutions in Poland, then to Russia, and finally accumulating in the U.S….”

“According to Belaruskiy Partizan, [Belarusian investigators] followed the money trail to a series of bank accounts totaling USD 500 million,” the cable says, adding that, “reliable Embassy contacts asserted that the allegations are true and provided more details on the corrupt dealings of these notorious characters.”

Goodfellas

Under a section entitled “The shakedown, Goodfellas style”, the cable says that Pavlichenko and his security unit attempted to arrest the leader of a competing mafia gang of money speculators as they were about to make a 50,000 USD exchange.

“The speculator managed to escape to the police station but was caught by Pavlichenko before reaching the doors and a severe beating ensued. Podgol maintained that a female police officer ordered Pavlichenko to stop, but Pavlichenko, using graphic language, threatened to kill her,” writes the cable, in Godfather style prose.

“Once they finished beating the speculator, Pavlichenko and his men went to the speculator's house and seized USD 16,000 on top of the USD 50,000 they had already confiscated. They then delivered the speculator to an undisclosed Minsk detention facility, where he remains today, if not dead,” the cable adds.

The Wikileaks cable comes on the heals of international outcry at an allegedly fixed election on Sunday which saw President Lukashenko win the ballot with an 80 percent vote share.

The brutal suppression of demonstrations protesting the election result has been condemned by Poland, the EU, US, OSCE and many other organisations. (pg)