December 8, Pozirk. The Belarusian Investigative Center (BIC) sheds light on Belarusian-Russian cooperation to evade sanctions, enrich oligarchs and fuel Moscow’s aggressive war against Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday at the International Anti-Corruption Champions award ceremony in Washington.
For BIC head Stanisłaŭ Ivaškievič, the fight for transparency and civil society in Belarus has long been a fight against Russia, Blinken said.
BIC reports have played a decisive role in closing sanctions loopholes and freezing the assets of Russian officials and oligarchs, he added.
Although we do not work for awards, this prize reminds us that every BIC member is changing the world every day, Ivaškievič said.
The BIC said it published about 20 investigations in 2023, exposing corruption schemes and the circumvention of EU and US sanctions benefiting Alaksandar Łukašenka’s family and their allies. The center claims to have uncovered schemes worth more than $3 billion this year alone.
