The Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus Andrei Shved took part in a meeting of the Interstate Council for Countering Corruption

For reference. ICCC was created in accordance with the Agreement on the establishment of the Interstate Council for Countering Corruption of October 25, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement).  

The Agreement was signed and ratified by six states: the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Tajikistan.

The main areas of activity of the Council:

promoting the convergence and harmonization of national anti-corruption legislation;

development of proposals for the development of a legal framework for cooperation;

coordination of interaction between the competent authorities of the States parties to the Agreement, as well as CIS bodies interested in the fight against corruption.  

The event was also attended by the Prosecutors General of the Republic of Armenia, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation, the Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the First Deputy Director of the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption of the Republic of Tajikistan, representatives of the CIS Executive Committee, as well as representatives of the National Anticorruption Centre of the Republic of Moldova.

In his welcoming speech, Andrei Shved noted that combating corruption is one of the priorities of the policy of the Belarusian state. He quoted the words of the President of the Republic of Belarus that “the fight against corruption at all levels was and will be most determined and uncompromising”.

As the head of the Council, Andrei Shved noted the implementation of all the planned anti-corruption measures under the chairmanship of Belarus in accordance with the Council's work plan. He outlined the commitment to consolidate efforts in the fight against any manifestations of crime, the country's openness and interest in achieving concrete results for the benefit of protecting the rights and legitimate interests of citizens. He thanked the CIS Executive Committee for creating conditions for holding the meeting.

The forum participants called the two-year Belarusian chairmanship of the Council productive, and the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Igor Krasnov expressed his personal gratitude to the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus Andrei Shved.

The Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus also made a report in which he shared national experience in anti-corruption activities.

Andrei Shved informed about the introduced and planned amendments to the legislation.

In particular, he spoke about the introduction into the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Belarus on March 1, 2021, of an article which provides for liability of legal entities for illegal remuneration on their behalf or in their interests.

Andrei Shved informed about the preparation, together with interested subjects, of the draft Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Amendments to the Laws on the Fight Against Corruption”, which will be introduced for consideration in 2021. The purpose of the bill is to improve anti-corruption mechanisms, strengthen and differentiate responsibility.

The novels will also affect the procedure for declaring income and property.

For example, a regulatory norm will be introduced according to which state bodies and other organizations will be able to request and receive information from law enforcement officers about corruption acts of employees. This information can be used in personnel and preventive work.

At the meeting, the Heads of Agencies discussed the practice of combating crimes against the interests of service in each of the Council countries, current problems and ways to solve them, and approved work plans for 2022.

The issues of international cooperation in the field of detecting corruption offenses outside the framework of criminal prosecution were studied.

The implementation of the decisions of the Interstate Program of Joint Measures to Combat Crime for 2019-2023 and the implementation of the profile Concept were analyzed.

The new Chairman of the ICCC was determined by rotation - Akhmetzhanov Marat Muratovich, Chairman of Anti-Corruption Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The participants of the meeting agreed that the Council has become one of the most authoritative platforms in the field of interstate cooperation in the fight against crimes and offences of officials. They expressed confidence that such work will further contribute to strengthening ties in the anti-corruption sphere, and the exchange of experience will make it possible to make effective decisions to minimize the manifestations of this negative social phenomenon.

During the meeting, the members of the Council came to the conclusion about the need to more actively involve the public in anti-corruption activities.

The next meeting of the ICCC is scheduled to be held in the Kyrgyz Republic in 2022 in person.

As a part of the event, Andrei Shved also talked to media representatives and answered their questions, including about some results of the investigation of the criminal case on the genocide of the Belarusian population during the Great Patriotic War, the refusal of Lithuania and Latvia to provide the requested legal assistance in this case.