Arche accounts remain frozen


The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) filed a request for unblocking the magazine’s accounts with the Department of Financial Investigations (DFI).

According to BAJ spokesperson Barys Haretsky, the Department has refused to unfreeze the accounts of the legendary Belarusian periodical. Giving their reasons, the DFI appealed to the fact that the necessary financial documents had not been delivered to them.

As Ales Pashkevich, acting editor-in-chief, insists on all the documents having been filed to the Department, such a position set the editorial staff’s wondering.

“The staff even filed two complaints against investigators demanding to deblock accounts bit it has still yielded no result,” Haretsky said.

Belarusian periodical in the eye of taxmen

On September 14 its ex-editor-in-chief Valer Bulhakau was detained in Hrodna at the presentation of book “The Sovetization of Western Belarus”, accused of illegal business practice and fined. On September 21 officers of the Department of Financial Investigations (DFI) inspected the office where Arche was usually printed: all its documents for the last two years were seized. On October 2 more than 5,000 books were deforced from Bulhakau. To save the magazine Andrey Dynko, Arche’s founder, replaced Bulhakau with Ales Pashkevich on the position. Nevertheless, on the same day the DFI freezed its accounts, the magazine’s contributors being invited to the Department for offering explanations.

At the beginning of November Valer Bulhakau left the country pulling through criminal prosecution.

Belsat

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