BIC highlights 2022 results on International Anti-Corruption Day, launches crowdfunding campaign to expand activities

09 December 2022. Belarusian Investigative Center (BIC) marks International Anti-Corruption Day highlighting its achievements in 2022. Since the beginning of the year investigators from BIC have discovered $1bn worth of corrupt schemes in Belarus and beyond. Topics vary widely from abroad shadowy operations of corrupt Lukashenka-close clans of Karić and Varabei to repressions against private schools in Belarus benefitting a private school founded by Iryna Abelskaya - Lukashenka’s former mistress and mother of his youngest son.

Some of the investigations’ subjects have already faced consequences. Thus, following BIC/Guardian investigation, UK authorities have frozen $200 mln worth of London property of Said Gutseriev, son of Lukashenka “wallet” Mikhail Gutseriev. 26 EU MPs called for sanctions against oligarch’s daughter Katsiaryna Smuschkovich, quoting BIC joint investigation with Austrian outlet Dossier. And $500 mln sectoral sanctions evasion scheme stopped after BIC joint investigation with Delfi Estonia.

Stanislau Ivashkevich, head of Belarusian Investigative Center said:

“We are thrilled to witness that our investigations deal heavy blows to corruptioners’ income and put at risk their well-being. It seems that Belarusian authorities experience the same emotions otherwise it will be difficult to explain why all our content was branded as ‘extremist’ this year and our site was blocked. We took this as a motivation to improve our performance in the next year so we launch a crowdfunding campaign to stretch our budget for more investigations and other content.”

Earlier this week BIC started a crowdfunding initiative offering three options for donations: Patreon, cryptocurrency and C2C (with Stripe as a payment provider). The promotion campaign involved Belarusian celebrities. In the coming months BIC will add support buttons on its accounts in social medias: Youtube and Facebook.