Heads of farms in Gomel and Mogilev regions became defendants in corruption cases

November 17, Minsk. Departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are constantly working to identify illegal facts in agriculture. A special place is given to the speculative trade in cattle and the concealment of the case. In the last month alone, based on the materials of the GUBOPiK and GUBEP, several dozen criminal cases of corruption were initiated against officials of agricultural enterprises in the Gomel and Mogilev regions, BelTA learned from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

"This year, an unhealthy trend has been established in the Gomel region: a number of farms systematically sell cattle to merchants at reduced prices. For nine months, the amount of lost revenue from the sale of livestock amounted to almost Br60 million," the GUBOPiK reported.

The region has the highest percentage of cattle mortality. At the same time, individual heads of agricultural enterprises are trying in every possible way to hide it, distorting statistical reporting. Documented case for nine months was underestimated by 4.1 thousand heads.

Four heads of agricultural enterprises in the Gomel region were convicted of concealing the death of more than a thousand heads of cattle (distorted data in statistical reporting), as well as illegally selling more than 250 cows to merchants. Among the attackers is the head of the farm in the Dobrush region, who concealed the death of 940 heads under the guise of selling them to the population.

Criminal cases have been initiated against the perpetrators for official forgery and abuse of power.

A criminal scheme for the purchase of feed additives was also uncovered in the region. Since 2019, officials of state-owned enterprises, in collusion with domestic and Russian merchants, have been buying the drug at an inflated cost. The damage to farms from their actions amounted to Br1.6 million. The feed additive turned out to be ineffective: milk yield, production and weight gain of cattle decreased. Veterinary services of the region have repeatedly banned the use of the drug when feeding animals. However, for their own benefit, the leaders ignored the research and demands.

Criminal cases have been initiated against malefactors for fraud committed on an especially large scale, and abuse of power or official authority.

Another chairman of the collective farm - already in the Mogilev region - became a defendant in a criminal case for taking a bribe. The issue of illegal remuneration is the sale of livestock to merchants at a reduced price.