The “banker” of Belarus banned from staying. But not his companies?
(BRUSSELS2) The 27 foreign ministers are preparing to take some new sanctions against Belarus on Monday, trying to tighten the system on people who support the president. It is no longer a question of targeting the official structure of the state – ministers, KGB officials, judges who already appear on the previous lists – but its financial supporters. Particularly targeted: Vladimir Peftiev, one of the Belarusian oligarchs, considered Lukashenko's private banker. He would then become banned from entering the European Union and his funds could be frozen.
A wealthy man, entered into the list of millionaires of Forbes magazine in 2010, who directs, directly or indirectly, a good part of the economic fabric of the country, in particular the business of manufacturing and exporting arms and military goods, BeltechExport. He also has interests in telephone, betting, banking or construction companies. He has also set his sights on sport, especially hockey (the national hockey championship, it's him) and tennis (the national tennis federation, it's still him!).
EU divided over scope of sanctions
EU member states are, however, divided on the extent of the sanctions. If a broad consensus was made to target Peftiev, this is not the case for the inclusion of entities he directs. The initial draft decision was in fact directly aimed at Peftiev and three companies. But the Baltic countries (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia) as well as Italy, Romania and Portugal, in particular, opposed this solution to varying degrees. Most of the other member states support the initial draft sanctions. The "toughest" led by Poland seem to be Slovakia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden - according to a European diplomat. A path of compromise, traced by Italy and supported, on the one hand, by Lithuania or Portugal, on the other by France, the United Kingdom, would consist in sanctioning Peftiev and a single company. COPS ambassadors are due to meet again on Monday morning to try to reach a compromise.
The BeltechExport Empire
Beltechexport is, in fact, not just any company. It is the main architect of the military-industrial complex of Belarus (and the sponsor of the Milex fair which was just held last May in Minsk). Equipped with a research center - which specializes in particular in automated command, air traffic control, artillery control systems, optical sights (a specialty of Belarus) - it is also - and above all - known to be one of the main exporters of Belarusian production and does not disdain to act as an intermediary for Russian production either. It has supplied or modernized the equipment of many African armies (Algeria, Uganda, Sudan, etc.) in the Arab world (Syria, Yemen, Iran) or the former USSR (Azerbaijan, etc.), and offers in its catalog of the full range of heavy weapons including tanks (Т-55, Т-72, Т-80) aircraft (MiG-29, Su-24МК, Su-24МR, Su-25, Su-27) or helicopters (Mi-8, Mi-17, Mi-24). One of its ambitions is to develop on the Chinese market and to make the port of Riga in Latvia its main transit point (hub) for exports (hence Latvia's reluctance on sanctions).
NB: the United States has already imposed sanctions, at the end of May, on Beltechexport and BelOMO for other reasons (sale of military goods to Iran, Syria and North Korea).
Former Constable R. Montoya had privileged ties to this company. It was he who had supplied L. Gbagbo with the 2 Su-25s which had killed 10 French soldiers in Côte d'Ivoire.
To attack Belarus financially is to attack Russia. The latter has large investments there (Gazprom for example) and the anti-aircraft defense system is connected to the Russian system. Despite complicated relations with Moscow, Lukashenko knows he can count on the Russians if necessary. His country remains a strong ally in the deployment of the American ABM system in Poland.
We will also note the somewhat ambiguous attitude of the Baltic countries, which also benefit from Belarusian investments and which contribute to their economic development even though they proclaim their desire to see NATO planes defend them against the Russian Bear. !!