The Prosecutor's Office reminds

February 28, 2024

In the Republic of Belarus, special attention is paid to the issues of combating corruption and preventing all its manifestations.

In accordance with Article 5 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus of July 15, 2015 No. 305-Z "On Combating Corruption" (hereinafter referred to as the Law), the fight against corruption is carried out by state bodies and other organizations through the comprehensive application of planning and coordination of activities of state bodies and other organizations to combat corruption, as well as the establishment of restrictions and special requirements aimed at ensuring financial control over public officials and persons equated to them, in order to prevent and detect manifestations of corruption.

One of the forms of ensuring financial control is the establishment of an obligation for public officials and persons equated to them to annually declare income and property, the procedure for which is provided for by Chapter 4 of the Law.

The main normative legal acts regulating the procedure for filling out, accepting, checking, and storing declarations of income and property are the Instruction on the Procedure for Filling Out Declarations of Income and Property by Individuals, approved by the Resolution of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties of the Republic of Belarus of January 9, 2008 No. 1, as well as the Regulation on the Procedure for Checking and Storing Declarations of Income and Property, approved by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus of January 16, 2016 No. 19.

Since March 1, 2023, Article 27-1 "Income and Property Not Subject to Mandatory Declaration" has been added to the Law, which contains a list of income and property that are not subject to disclosure in declarations. For example, these include funds placed in accounts, deposits (deposits) in banks of the Republic of Belarus, bonds and income from them, digital signs (tokens), income received under bonus, marketing, and other similar programs, price (tariff) discounts for goods (works, services), commercial loans, etc.

The practice of prosecutorial supervision shows that persons obliged to provide declarations of income and property often violate the requirements of the aforementioned legislation.

In particular, cases of non-disclosure or incomplete disclosure in income declarations of monetary transfers received from abroad are common. Information on insurance payments from "Belgosstrakh" units, short-term (overdrafts) and other loans is not always indicated.

Certain officials do not declare property subject to declaration, in particular, vehicles. The date or method of acquisition of real estate and vehicles remains unspecified, and inaccurate information about their cost is provided.

There are instances of non-disclosure of income received by officials in the gambling business, particularly online casinos.

It is evident that violations of legislation regulating income and property declaration create prerequisites for corruption and contradict the state policy on corruption prevention. In this regard, Article 24.6 of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offenses establishes administrative liability for violation of the procedure for declaring income and property.

In light of the foregoing, the district prosecutor's office draws the attention of persons obliged to submit income and property declarations to the need for strict compliance with the relevant legislation.

Deputy Prosecutor

of Gluboksky District