Belarusian Investigative Center

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Belarusian Investigative Center
StatusActive
Founded2018
FounderStanislau Ivashkevich
Country of originBelarus
Headquarters locationWarsaw, Poland
DistributionOnline
Official websiteinvestigatebel.org/en

The Belarusian Investigative Center (BIC) is an independent media outlet from Belarus that operates in exile. The center offers five core types of content: investigative journalism, fact-checking, analytical reporting, news, and economic analysis.[1]

History

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The Belarusian Investigative Center was established in 2018.[2] The team of the center left Belarus in 2021 amid a crackdown on media outlets and the arrest of journalists by Belarusian authorities. Following a search of the BIC studio in Minsk, most of the team relocated abroad.[1]

On June 29, 2021, the website of the BIC was blocked in Belarus.[1]

In October 2022, the Minsk city prosecutor's office designated the information products of the Belarusian Investigative Center, as well as logos featuring the abbreviation "BIC" and the words "Belarusian Investigative Center," as "extremist materials."[3]

In December 2022, the Belarusian Investigative Center joined the Global Investigative Journalism Network, and became a member center of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.[4]

On September 15, 2023, the Belarusian Supreme Court designated the Belarusian Investigative Center as an "extremist organization."[5]

Investigations

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Russian businessman Said Gutseriev was a key figure in one of the most notable investigations by the BIC.
Russian businessman Said Gutseriev was a key figure in one of the most notable investigations by the BIC.

In January 2022, the Belarusian Investigative Center together with Re:Baltica, Delfi Estonia published an investigative report revealing a threefold increase in oil exports from Belarus to Estonia between 2020 and 2021. Consequently, on February 4, 2022, Estonia announced additional sanctions against Belarus, including the suspension of coal and oil transit.[6]

Following a joint investigation by BIC and The Guardian, British authorities froze the London property of Said Gutseriev, valued at $200 million. Said Gutseriev is the son of Mikhail Gutseriev, a key financial supporter of Belarusian authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko.[7]

In December 2022, Lithuanian businessman Saulius Girčys was expelled from his political party following an investigation by BIC, which revealed his involvement in the illegal sale of Belarusian timber to the EU via Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.[8]

After a joint investigation with the Lithuanian media outlet Siena into ways of circumventing sanctions against Grodno Azot, Lithuania seized Belarusian fertilizers worth millions of euros and strengthened border controls.[9]

In November 2023, the Belarusian Investigative Center collaborated with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Paper Trail Media, and 69 media partners, alongside over 270 journalists from 55 countries, to produce the "Cyprus Confidential" report. This investigation uncovered a financial network supporting Vladimir Putin's regime, primarily through connections in Cyprus. The report revealed that Cyprus has significant ties with high-ranking Kremlin figures, some of whom have been sanctioned.[10][11]

GWithin 24 hours of the investigation's release, government officials, including Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and European lawmakers, responded by calling for reforms and initiating probes into the findings.[12][13]

The BIC has also conducted investigations into numerous Belarusian companies and high-profile individuals, including BelAZ,[14] Dana Holdings [ru],[15] Grodno Azot,[16] Irina Abelskaya [ru],[3] Aliaksei Aleksin,[17] Yury Chyzh,[3] Mikhail Gutseriev,[18] Aliaksandr Shakutsin,[19] Viktor Sheiman,[3] Pavel Topuzidis [ru],[20] Siarhei Tsiatsieryn [ru],[21] Mikalai Varabei[22] and Aleksandr Zaitsev [ru].[23]

The BIC has also investigated the Belarus–EU migration crisis[24] and the abductions of the Ukrainian children.[25] Some of the BIC's investigations have been conducted in collaboration with OCCRP, Cyber Partisans and local investigative media outlets, such as Armando.Info, iStories or Re:Baltica.

Programs

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Filming of the "Late Night with Chaly" show by BIC.
Filming of the "Late Night with Chaly" show by BIC.

The Belarusian Investigative Center produces several notable video programs, including "News with Chaly" and "Chaly: Economics." Their show "Weekly Top Fake" stands out for its dedication to debunking fake news in Belarusian and Russian media.[26]

Awards

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Journalists from the Belarusian Investigative Center have been honored with the national "Free Word" award from the Belarusian Association of Journalists in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. At the "Free Word" awards in 2021, the BIC team also secured first place in the Analytics category.[27]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Белорусские журналисты-расследователи продолжают работу из-за рубежа". golosameriki.com (in Russian). 20 July 2022. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  2. ^ "Belarusian Investigative Center". Archived from the original on 2023-07-11. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  3. ^ a b c d "Exiled Belarusian investigative website deemed 'extremist' by Minsk". Euractiv. 2022-11-02.
  4. ^ Беларускі расследавальніцкі цэнтр уступіў у GIJN
  5. ^ Belarusian Supreme Court Labels Respected Investigative Center As 'Extremist'
  6. ^ The Belarus-Baltics trade war
  7. ^ The sanctioned oligarch’s son and a £160m London property empire
  8. ^ Lithuanian Politician gets Expelled from the Party after OCCRP Investigation
  9. ^ Lithuania Cracks Down on Sanction Evasion Schemes after OCCRP Investigation
  10. ^ "Cyprus Confidential: Leaked Roman Abramovich documents raise fresh questions for Chelsea FC: ICIJ-led investigation reveals how Mediterranean island ignores Russian atrocities and western sanctions to cash in on Putin's oligarchs". The Irish Times. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Cyprus Confidential - ICIJ". www.icij.org. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Cyprus ignores Russian atrocities, Western sanctions to shield vast wealth of Putin allies - ICIJ". 2023-11-14. Archived from the original on 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  13. ^ Solutions, BDigital Web. "Finance Minister perturbed over 'Cyprus Confidential'". knews.com.cy. Archived from the original on 2023-12-24. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  14. ^ Cerniauskas, Sarunas; Yarashevich, Ales; Kranceviciute, Migle (2021-11-25). "Ex-Prison Warden in Lithuania Struck $1M Deal with Sanctioned Belarusian State Truckmaker". Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
  15. ^ Cerniauskas, Sarunas; Yarashevich, Ales; Kranceviciute, Migle (2021-11-25). "Lukashenko Doles Out Prime Belarus Real Estate to Serbian Cronies". Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
  16. ^ Gotev, Georgi (2023-02-21). "Belarus fertilisers sanction-busting schemes revealed". Euractiv.
  17. ^ Yarashevich, Ales; Karpeka, Aliaksei; Ratmirova, Olga; Cerniauskas, Sarunas (2021-11-29). "Soon After Taking Over Belarus' Tobacco Industry, Oligarch Donated Luxury Cars to Lukashenko Regime". Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
  18. ^ Jolly, Jasper (2022-05-24). "The sanctioned oligarch's son and a £160m London property empire". The Guardian.
  19. ^ "Belarusian oligarch uses Lithuanian firm to dodge sanctions in Germany – media". Lithuanian National Radio and Television. 2023-02-13. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  20. ^ "COMMENT: EU's sanctions need to cover Belarus' 'mini oligarchy'". Bne IntelliNews. 2022-03-25.
  21. ^ "Расследование: друг Лукашенко поставляет в Беларусь шоколад из Европы в обход санкций". Current Time TV (in Russian). 2023-03-06. Archived from the original on 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  22. ^ Gotev, Georgi (2022-09-27). "Lavish Austrian property of EU-sanctioned Belarusian oligarch revealed". Euractiv. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  23. ^ Gotev, Georgi (2023-04-25). "'Lukashenko wallet' used Catholic Church to evade EU sanctions". Euractiv.
  24. ^ Ivashkevich, Stanislau (2023-08-06). "A new migration crisis is brewing on border with Belarus. This time, the trail starts in Russia". Lithuanian National Radio and Television.
  25. ^ Gotev, Georgi (2023-08-01). "Belarusian connection revealed in children's abductions from Ukraine". Euractiv.
  26. ^ About us
  27. ^ Awards
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