Entrepreneur and son embezzle Br91,000 milk donators in Gomel region

February 7, Gomel. The Investigation Department of the USC for the Gomel Region has disclosed details of the investigation of a criminal case on fraud in the payment of allowances to private MILK suppliers, BelTA has been told by the official representative of the USC for the Gomel Region Maria Krivonogova.

As established, a 55-year-old entrepreneur from Khoiniki collected cow's milk from the population, which he then sold to a large dairy processing enterprise. "An annual agreement was concluded with the merchant for the supply of milk, which prescribed the territory allowed for collection - several remote villages in the Loevsky district. Together with the entrepreneur, his son worked without official registration. The men collected milk from the villagers , took them to the production site in Khoiniki and after receipt payments were made with them," the USC said.

In 2021, the son of an entrepreneur was convicted of making corrections to accompanying documents. In particular, he changed the index of fat content of milk supplied to the enterprise. He was convicted of fraud.

The family contract came to the attention of law enforcement officers, employees of the prosecutor's office, the UDFR and the regional investigation department became interested in its activities. So the father and son became defendants in the new case.

The investigation established that the men each month submitted false information about milk distributors to the Loyevsky District Executive Committee in order to calculate the allowance for the purchase prices for agricultural products. "The lists indicated their relatives and acquaintances who did not own cows. They also recorded fictitious residents of other areas. Based on this information, money from the republican budget was monthly credited to the merchant's account to pay an allowance to the villagers. Part of the money was cashed out by the defendants and transferred to real animal owners The rest were appropriated. In four years, the father and son took possession of more than Br91 thousand," the USC explained.

The defendants gave false testimony, tried to hide the facts of illegal activities. In order to collect evidence, the investigator conducted more than 500 interrogations of milk distributors in three districts of the region, more than 25 interrogations of specialists from district executive committees, veterinary stations, an animal registration center, and a dairy processing enterprise. Violations were also revealed in the procedure for receiving raw materials at the processing plant, as well as the registration of cattle owned by individuals. The management of the enterprise and the Center for Information Systems in Animal Husbandry received submissions on the elimination of the causes and conditions that contributed to the commission of the crime.

"Despite the tricks of the accused, the investigation took measures to ensure compensation for damage. it was established that during the period of the crime, large amounts in foreign currency were transferred from the card accounts of the father and son to Poland, Germany, Lithuania to purchase expensive cars. Vehicles were imported into Belarus as goods for personal use, registered for the disabled and those with many children, and then sold by proxy. The total amount of property seized in the criminal case amounted to more than Br230,000," the USC added

The men were charged with committing a crime under part 4 of article 209 (fraud committed by a group of persons, on an especially large scale) of the Criminal Code.