The director of a Minsk-based company embezzled Br125 million transferred for the purchase of kayaks for Vitebsk Olympians.

February 23, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. The director of a Minsk company embezzled Br125 million, transferred for the purchase of kayaks for the training of Olympic athletes of the Vitebsk Regional Higher School of Sportsmanship, the Department for Combating Economic Crimes (DBEC) of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, whose unit uncovered this crime, informed a BELTA correspondent. In 2006, the Vitebsk Regional Higher School of Sportsmanship was allocated Br125 million for the purchase of three kayaks for the training of athletes for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The head of this institution concluded a contract for their supply with a Minsk company, whose director was a former athlete himself and was involved in the supply of sports equipment for rowing. After some time, the head of the school received documents for the supplied boats and, in turn, prepared new ones, according to which he allegedly transferred them for responsible storage to the same Minsk company. In addition, he also provided false information about the full use of budget funds and the purchase of sports equipment to the main department for the Vitebsk region of the Ministry of Finance. And in 2009, during an audit, it was found that the boats existed only on paper. For abuse of office and forgery of documents, the head of the Vitebsk Regional Higher School of Sportsmanship was sentenced by the court of the Oktyabrsky district of Vitebsk to 3 years of imprisonment. At the same time, the Vitebsk Regional Court left his cassation appeal unsatisfied, Dmitry Orekhva, prosecutor of the department for supervision of the legality of court decisions in criminal cases and analysis of judicial practice of the Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, clarified to a BELTA correspondent. The director of the Minsk company is currently wanted. A criminal case has been initiated against him for embezzlement of money under Article 210, Part 4, which provides for up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property and deprivation of the right to engage in certain activities or hold certain positions, the DBEC added. -0-