Events

Lukashenko meets with Investigative Committee chairman

MINSK, 7 September (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko heard out a report of Chairman of the Investigative Committee Ivan Noskevich on 7 September, BelTA has learned.

The head of state asked Ivan Noskevich to update him, first of all, on the crime clearance, with the focus on investigating the criminal cases that hit the headlines and are on the president's radar now.

“Secondly, (to be honest, it was a blessing in disguise, as they say), political squabbles and issues that emerge during elections and in the post-election period, have revealed a series of bottlenecks, and maybe shortcomings in the work of the power vertical. What do these developments show, as far as the Investigative Committee is concerned? What lessons do we need to learn from this?” Aleksandr Lukashenko asked.

According to Ivan Noskevich, this year the Investigative Committee “is performing its duties in a calm and consistent way”. In his words, in the face of public and political events and the epidemiological situation, the crime rate dropped by about 8% compared to the previous year. “Consequently, the workload on the Investigative Committee reduced,” he added.

The president asked what types of crime are the most alarming.

“The structure of crime has somewhat changed, with more cybercrimes reported. This trend has been in place in recent years. The number of cybercrimes is on the rise, thus the law enforcement has refocused on investigating such crimes using information technology,” Ivan Noskevich said.

After meeting with the head of state, the chairman of the Investigative Committee told reporters that some 92,500 crimes were reported, revealed and processed in January-August; about 59,000 criminal investigations were launched; 25,000 people faced criminal prosecution. “The number of cybercrimes increased about 1.5 times compared with the same period last year,” he reiterated.

Ivan Noskevich noted that some people ventured on some ‘obvious crimes' expecting that the law enforcement will be very busy during the election and in the post-election period. He cited robberies of a bookmaker's office and a household products shop in Minsk as a case in point.

“I guess these people expected that no one would arrest them and investigate these crimes. They were mistaken. Both crimes were cleared within a very short period of time and two criminal charges have been brought against them. I think that these citizens will face criminal prosecution soon,” Ivan Noskevich said.

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