Aleksandr Lukashenko hears out report from State Secretary of the Security Council Leonid Maltsev
President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko met with State Secretary of the Security Council Leonid Maltsev on 23 May to receive his report.
Aleksandr Lukashenko reminded about the need to regularly confer with power-wielding bodies – the State Security Committee, the Interior Ministry, the Defense Ministry, and other ones. “We have agreed that we should convene such conferences every three months or more often if necessary,” said the head of state. Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that such conferences should focus on topical problems.
In particular, the next conference should focus on fighting corruption and economic crimes.
The President believes that law enforcement agencies are insufficiently active in fighting corruption.
“I am very concerned by the fact that for all intents and purposes the State Security Committee deals with this problem while other government agencies rest on their laurels and believe it is not their problem. But the public prosecution is the key body in charge of fighting corruption in Belarus and should be busy fighting corruption, should stay on top of the situation. The Interior Ministry has more capabilities than the State Security Committee does. Frankly speaking, district police officers and police on the whole know everything, which is going on in the country. But so far the Interior Ministry fails to act,” said the head of state.
The President spoke against cracking down on corruption without any discrimination. In his words, the level of corruption in Belarus is much lower than that in other countries, however, an increase in corruption levels must be prevented.
Speaking about the fight against economic crimes, Aleksandr Lukashenko encouraged law enforcement agencies to work harder. “I expect transparent, businesslike efforts. Don’t grab and lock up people unless someone deserves it but the fight against economic crimes should be effective”.
The President believes that the main efforts of relevant law enforcement agencies should be rerouted to this area.
“Because I get reports from the Interior Minister, the Chairman of the State Security Committee, the Chairman of the State Control Committee, and you that everything is more or less normal as far as the fight against racketeering is concerned,” said the President.
“Such actions in a fair, honest, and decent country are inadmissible. We cannot allow the stratification of the society due to economic crimes. And we see stratification already: a guy own a shop and a half but the family has three imported cars, each worth a million US dollars. Where did the money come from if the profits generated by the shops are very small? It means they hide something, find loopholes, hide revenues from taxation, and so on. I am exaggerating and use a small-scale example but we have bigger ‘whales’, who dodge taxes,” remarked the head of state. He underlined that he would like to hear relevant proposals from participants of the planned session.
Apart from that, the meeting touched upon preparations for celebrating the Independence Day. “How are we preparing for the parade? It should be optimal but we cannot cut down on essential things. It is better not to stage a parade at all than staging one in a half-hearted manner”.
The President was also informed about the progress in optimizing the State Secretariat of the Security Council, the Interior Ministry, the Investigation Committee, the public prosecution, the Armed Forces. According to Leonid Maltsev, the optimization of these bodies reflects the present situation in the country and the policy will be continued.
Aleksandr Lukashenko reminded about the need to regularly confer with power-wielding bodies – the State Security Committee, the Interior Ministry, the Defense Ministry, and other ones. “We have agreed that we should convene such conferences every three months or more often if necessary,” said the head of state. Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that such conferences should focus on topical problems.
In particular, the next conference should focus on fighting corruption and economic crimes.
The President believes that law enforcement agencies are insufficiently active in fighting corruption.
“I am very concerned by the fact that for all intents and purposes the State Security Committee deals with this problem while other government agencies rest on their laurels and believe it is not their problem. But the public prosecution is the key body in charge of fighting corruption in Belarus and should be busy fighting corruption, should stay on top of the situation. The Interior Ministry has more capabilities than the State Security Committee does. Frankly speaking, district police officers and police on the whole know everything, which is going on in the country. But so far the Interior Ministry fails to act,” said the head of state.
The President spoke against cracking down on corruption without any discrimination. In his words, the level of corruption in Belarus is much lower than that in other countries, however, an increase in corruption levels must be prevented.
Speaking about the fight against economic crimes, Aleksandr Lukashenko encouraged law enforcement agencies to work harder. “I expect transparent, businesslike efforts. Don’t grab and lock up people unless someone deserves it but the fight against economic crimes should be effective”.
The President believes that the main efforts of relevant law enforcement agencies should be rerouted to this area.
“Because I get reports from the Interior Minister, the Chairman of the State Security Committee, the Chairman of the State Control Committee, and you that everything is more or less normal as far as the fight against racketeering is concerned,” said the President.
“Such actions in a fair, honest, and decent country are inadmissible. We cannot allow the stratification of the society due to economic crimes. And we see stratification already: a guy own a shop and a half but the family has three imported cars, each worth a million US dollars. Where did the money come from if the profits generated by the shops are very small? It means they hide something, find loopholes, hide revenues from taxation, and so on. I am exaggerating and use a small-scale example but we have bigger ‘whales’, who dodge taxes,” remarked the head of state. He underlined that he would like to hear relevant proposals from participants of the planned session.
Apart from that, the meeting touched upon preparations for celebrating the Independence Day. “How are we preparing for the parade? It should be optimal but we cannot cut down on essential things. It is better not to stage a parade at all than staging one in a half-hearted manner”.
The President was also informed about the progress in optimizing the State Secretariat of the Security Council, the Interior Ministry, the Investigation Committee, the public prosecution, the Armed Forces. According to Leonid Maltsev, the optimization of these bodies reflects the present situation in the country and the policy will be continued.