Spray money. How two of Lukashenko’s “wallets” organised a cash grab at the border

A basic imitation of disinfection 

Two rubles per car, 30 rubles per bus, and 120 rubles per truck were the disinfection fees in effect for vehicles entering Belarus at the time of publication. Mandatory paid disinfection is not a periodic measure but a permanent one; it is a special procedure for each vehicle crossing the border. Although the EU has introduced similar measures in Bulgaria last year and on the Czech and Serbian borders this year in response to outbreaks of cattle diseases and the danger of foot-and-mouth disease epidemics, respectively, these were temporary measures. Russia and Ukraine do not currently have such permanent measures in place, although they reserve the right to introduce mandatory, epidemiological controls at their borders if necessary.

The Belarusian disinfection station is a short channel located behind the border control on the road. Sensors automatically activate sprayers as the car passes through the frame, and the vehicle is then sprayed with a pressurised disinfectant solution. Before entering the station, the driver is supposed to close the windows and turn off the interior ventilation. They must also stay in the car during processing. This process takes around 10 seconds. There is a separate passage for oversized vehicles, which are processed manually to some extent.

According to pharmaceutical chemist Siarhei Besarab, who assessed the Belarusian know-how and commented to BIC, this approach is pointless.

“The effectiveness of disinfection drops significantly when organic matter like soil, humus, or plant debris is present. <...> Viruses — including the highly resilient ASF [African swine fever – ed. note] virus — can persist in dirt on vehicle wheels and under the fenders. Therefore, at high-security facilities, the focus is primarily on wheel treatment; cars pass through special drive-thru baths. Spraying a dirty car on the move is a parody of disinfection; a primitive one designed for immature, uneducated spectators. For that matter, the approach does not guarantee that the disinfectant will come into contact with the pathogen”. 

The official purpose of the spraying is to prevent the spread of infectious human and animal diseases in our country. This is stated in the Decree on the Mandatory Vehicle Disinfection, signed by Aleksandr Lukashenko in April 2022. It also says which company should provide it. 

Whose turf is it

TAA BelGlobalGarant (a limited liability company as defined by the law of Belarus) was entrusted with the construction of special stationary disinfection stations. The company was appointed as the operator responsible for the stage-by-stage construction and operation of the disinfection barriers, as well as for creating an electronic accounting system for mandatory payments. According to Lukashenko’s decree, BelGlobalGarant must finance the construction of all facilities at its own expense and recoup the costs by charging for border disinfection.

BelGlobalGarant is the brainchild of Aleksandr Lukashenko’s personal tennis coach and “wallet”, Sergei Teterin. In June 2021, the EU imposed personal sanctions against him. Teterin had resigned from BelGlobalGarant’s founding board a few weeks earlier, thus helping the company avoid European restrictions. [*] [*] However, the company created a new management body — the board of directors — in the spring of next year. [*] Almost immediately, Sergei Teterin joined it, retaining his influence on the company’s activities. [*] [*] [*] [*] All drivers, including those from European countries that have imposed sanctions on Lukashenko’s “wallet”, now pay a fee to travel across the Belarusian border to this company. 

ZAT Belzamezhbud (a closed joint stock company as defined by the law of Belarus), renamed ZAT ViaSETrade (a closed joint stock company as defined by the law of Belarus) in 2022, also joined the construction of the BelGlobalGarant disinfection stations. [*] From at least 2007 to 2022, this campaign was linked to Victor Chevtsov, a businessman close to the Belarusian authorities. In the summer of 2024, after the BIC investigation revealed his monopoly on the manufacture of protective holograms, he was sanctioned by the European Union and Switzerland for receiving “benefits from the Lukashenko regime”. He controlled the company through his ZAT Bank Rashenne (a closed joint stock company as defined by the law of Belarus). Belzamezhbud was supposed to design a project for disinfection stations. 

In response to our letter, Victor Chevtsov himself admitted that Belzamezhbud (ViaSETrade) was developing a design solution for disinfection chambers. He even provided the contract amount: 25,000 Belarusian rubles (equivalent to $9,700). At the same time, however, the businessman stressed that other companies had carried out all subsequent work.  

Spraying bacteria and viruses

Just one month after Lukashenko issued his decree, the Council of Ministers approved the schedule for the construction and commissioning of the first disinfection stations. Payment collection commenced in September 2023. That’s how the monopolist was born. BelGlobalGarant is the only private company authorised to collect mandatory payments at the border for this type of activity. 

A questionable method and possible corruption are not the only problems that the BIC exposed while working on this topic. Chemist Siarhei Besarab drew our attention to the product used for disinfecting vehicles at the border. A 0.5% aqueous solution of Unidez-1 containing aldehyde (glyoxal) and quaternary ammonium is used for processing vehicles. According to the instructions for use, it is a certified veterinary disinfectant that is safe for use on car metal parts and on humans at the recommended concentration. Besarab stresses that while this substance is highly effective in the laboratory, its effectiveness during rapid spray treatment is another matter.

“In general, theoretically effective chemical components that have been validated in the laboratory are used, but they are used in a way that almost completely negates their potential benefits. This creates the impression that important biosafety measures have been taken, but the actual epidemiological impact tends toward negative values. The main effect of this procedure is the regular collection of fees while spending almost nothing to maintain the appearance of disinfection. This is a gold mine. Roughly speaking, it’s almost like spraying a vehicle with water and collecting money for it — pure profit!”

We tried to estimate this profit. The Border Committee has stated that up to 710 buses, over 14,000 cars and nearly 7,000 trucks can pass through the border checkpoints with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia each day. According to current tariffs, the cost of disinfection can reach 862,000 rubles (almost $280,000) per day. This calculation is based on the maximum possible border crossing capacity. In previous years, the Belarusian border service reported annual vehicle flows that were 7–8 times smaller than the actual capacity of the border checkpoints.

We have sent requests for comment regarding the private business’s monopoly on the Belarusian border to BelGlobalGarant, ViaSETrade, and the Belarusian Border Committee. At the time of publication, we had not received any responses; if we do, we will definitely publish them.