7 May 2019 19:07

Belarusian KGB detains 3 Russians on suspicion of bribery - Russian embassy

MINSK. May 7 (Interfax) - The Russian Embassy to Belarus received the Belarusian Foreign Ministry's notification that the Belarusian State Security Committee has detained three Russians suspected of giving a bribe, Alexei Maskalyov, spokesperson for the Russian diplomatic mission, told Interfax.

"We received an official notification about the detention of three Russian citizens by the Belarusian KGB and sent a request to the relevant Belarusian authorities for consular employees' access to the aforementioned Russian citizens," Maskalyov said.

According to him, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said in its notification that Russian citizens were detained on suspicion of committing a crime under the Part 2 of the Article 431 of the Belarusian Criminal Code, "bribe-giving." However, no further details were provided in the notification, Maskalyov said.

On May 4, the Belarusian KGB reported two high-profile detentions of high-ranking officials after receiving bribes from Russians.

Andrei Vtyurin, former deputy state secretary of the Belarusian Security Council and head of the presidential security service in 2007-2014, was caught red-handed taking a $148,600 bribe from a Russian company for lobbying its interests in the country.

Beltelecom Director-General Sergei Sivodedov was detained for accepting a bribe of 15,000 euros from a Russian citizen for facilitation of supplies of telecommunication equipment.

Meanwhile, according to the KGB's official statements, a Russian citizen was involved in each of the detention.

The KGB said on both instances that the defendants cooperate with the investigators. A measure of restraint in the form of placement into custody was imposed on both of them. Operative and investigative activities are underway.