The Pandora's Dossier is 11.9 million files weighing 2.94 terabytes from 14 different sources.

More than 650 journalists from the International Consortium of Journalists have studied millions of files containing information on three dozen former and current heads of state and more than three hundred officials.

For the first time, Belarusians took part in such an investigation.

“Work on this began about a year ago, when the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists merged.

They have a partner, known by the English acronym OCCRP - the Center for the Investigation of Corruption and Organized Crime, and we are their partner.

When they saw that there were Belarusian traces, they invited us.

I went, looked at the materials, saw that the case was serious and sent one of our best researchers Ales Yarashevich, who previously worked at BelaPan.

He spent the last two months there and analyzed this large volume of documents. "

Journalists have established that the son of former head of the President of Belarus Viktor Sheiman Sergei and businessman Alexander Zingman through an offshore company own a stake in the company Zim Goldfields, which mines gold in Zimbabwe.

"Money for gold mining received a company registered in the tax haven"

"In the 30 years of independence of Belarus, there is the only sudden surge associated with Zimbabwe - in 2018.

It is connected with the visit of the head of the presidential administration Viktor Sheiman, and in addition by Lukashenka's proxy for Africa.

According to Lukashenka's report after his return, he agreed on the following scheme: Belarus supplies equipment for tens of millions of dollars, and in return, if they can't pay with money, they can pay with gold mining rights, ”Ivashkevich says.

Two months earlier, according to the journalist, in the Seychelles, the son of Victor Sheiman, who negotiates in Zimbabwe on behalf of the state, registers a company that is the owner of the company that produces gold.

“By and large, the beneficiary of the interstate deal is a close relative of the person who negotiated it.

The money for gold mining was received by a company registered in the tax haven, owned by Sergei Sheiman.

We have information that there was a deal that equipment was supplied, there is information that there was a search for gold.

But there is no such document directly to state that MTZ sends tractors for free and Sheiman for free gold.

There are a very large number of coincidences, which beyond a reasonable doubt indicates that all transactions can be linked. "

- says Ivashkevich.

"Such suspicious schemes were first given to businessmen"

The journalist calls it an unprecedented thing, because earlier, according to him, large chunks of political subsidies, such as oil, were given to businessmen who had ties to Belarusian officials. He reminds that in the 1990s the biggest figure in this sense was Anatoly Tarnovsky.

"He then worked for Gutseriv (Russian oligarch associated with Belarus - RS).

One of his companies was the third largest taxpayer in Belarus after two oil refineries.

One can imagine what a huge chunk of oil subsidies Tarnowski received.

By the way, Lukashenka's daughter-in-law Anna, the daughter of his son Dmitry, worked in his company.

We found Tarnowski’s firm in the UK with tens of millions of dollars from the sale of petroleum products.

And the property of these companies was hidden in Panama, the final beneficiary of this company was Tarnowski's daughter. "

- says the head of the Belarusian Investigation Center.

Such suspicious schemes, Ivashkevich says, were initially given to businessmen.

And then officials began to delegate to business.

The journalist recalls Lukashenka's aide Alexander Zaitsev, who until 2012 was a security adviser.

Stanislau Ivashkevich

“And then he suddenly leaves and becomes the owner of a 100 million business.

Including the SOHRA Group, which was also a very mysterious beneficiary of the gold deal, when Lukashenko personally thanked Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for allowing Belarus to mine gold in Sudan.

As a result, it turned out that Belarus, which benefits from this - is the Emirati offshore, which is owned by Alexander Zaitsev.

We have seen an evolution when business delegates become wallets.

And now, for the first time, we see how officials benefit themselves through their relatives. "

- says Stas Ivashkevich.

"Lukashenka asked Sheiman to complete gold mining project for Sheiman's son"

He recalls how Lukashenko said goodbye to Sheiman recently when he resigned as head of the Presidential Administration.

"Victor, please don't leave your tails on Africa," Lukashenko said.

I am said to be asked to send proxies, and I have only you and the eldest son.

We now see that what Lukashenko has asked Sheiman to do is to complete the gold mining project in the interests of Sheiman's son.

Why did Lukashenka ask him about it?

Everyone can answer for themselves why Lukashenka was so interested in Sheiman's son continuing to extract gold, the money from which goes to the Seychelles. "

What amounts can we talk about? Belarusian journalists have received documents on the period of geological exploration of a gold deposit in Wimbabwe. Which talks about millions of dollars. But Ivashkevich emphasizes that the amount concerns only intelligence. Sheiman himself reported to Lukashenka that gold goes in exchange for equipment, that is, it could be tens of millions of dollars, says Ivashkevich, but adds that there are no relevant documents to confirm how much they earned in 2020 and later. In 2018, Sheiman said the development is going well.

Investigators were able to find several Zimbabwean documents relating to the extraction.

Euroradio journalist Alyaksei Karpeka, who also studied the issue, contributed to this.

One of the documents of the municipality listed the amount of gold mined by the companies.

Journalists hope to find a sequel with information about Sheiman Jr.'s campaign.

In general, says Ivashkevich, Zimbabwe is a very closed country and it is very difficult to get documents from them.

By the way, Siarhei Sheiman has previously been involved in the investigation of the imprisoned Belsat journalist Katsyaryna Andreeva and her husband Ihar Ilyash.

Sheiman's firm was involved in supplies to the Russian military.

Even then, it aroused suspicion that the company may be a private outflow of the interstate deal, Ivashkevich said.

"The fact that Zingman is lying shows that our finding is true."

Journalists tried to get a comment on the case from the "Pandora's Dossier" from Sergei and Viktor Sheimanov. But they did not answer inquiries and calls. From the e-mail of Aftrade, owned by Alexander Zingman, the investigators received the answer that the businessman has nothing to do with the joint venture Zim Goldfields or the British firm Midlands Goldfields Limited. "Mr. Zingman is also not involved in any business relationships or existing companies with Mr. Sergei Sheiman," the response said.

“As a journalist, I am pleased with such answers when the people involved are clearly lying, hoping that you know nothing.

He says he has never had a direct relationship with Sergei Sheiman.

We have documents confirming that they are partners with shares of 50% / 50% with Sergei Sheiman.

The fact that he is lying shows that our finding is true. "

Said Stas Ivashkevich.

Of the 27,000 companies identified in the Pandora's Dossier investigation, 138 are related to owners in Belarus.

According to Stas Ivashkevich, his team is now engaged in another investigation from the "Pandora's Dossier", which will soon see the light of day.

• Dmitry Gurnevich

  Radio Liberty journalist

  hurnievicd@rferl.org

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