Two officers of Investigation Committee stand trial for bribery

The Minsk city court began hearing of the criminal case launched against two officers of the Investigation Committee charged with bribery.

Former investigators of Minsk's Tsentralny district department of the Investigation Committee, Siarhei Kastyka and Aleh Melnikau, are in the dock. They are accused of violating part 3 of article 430 of the Criminal Code (accepting bribes on a large scale, or by an organised group, or by an executive official), BelaPAN reports.

In March, The Minsk city court heard a criminal case against Kastyka and Melnikau's colleagues from the Tsentralny district department of the Investigation Committee. Lieutenant colonel of justice Dzmitry Matskevich and captains Dzmitry Kontus and Henadzy Supinski were found guilty by the first instance court of accepting bribes and committing other crimes against service.

Aliaksandr Lukashenka mentioned them in his address to the nation in April 2014.

“A criminal case against Deputy Prosecutor General Arkhipau has been submitted to court. He was given a gold bar and a bottle of cognac as a bribe for the termination of a criminal case against a drunk person who was driving without a driving license and caused an accident which claimed the life of a girl who was travelling with him. Head of the Minsk district department of the Investigation Committee Yanushka was accused of getting a bribe as part of the same criminal case. The investigation of seven cases of bribery which involve his colleagues from the Minsk’s Tsentralny district department of the Investigation Committee Supinski, Kontus and Matskevich is currently under way,” the ruler said.

Matskevich, Kontus and Supinski were sentenced by the Minsk city court to 13, 12 and 7 years in a medium security correctional facility respectively. Their property was confiscated, and they were relieved of their ranks.