Venezuelan mass media: “Belzarubezhstroy” is mafia

A high-profile scandal erupted in Venezuela with regard to activities of “Belzarubezhstroy” (BZS) company.

Local journalists suspect it in connections with mafia, charge it with ill-treatment of workers and performing the work unconscientiously

“The Belarusian mafia” is the title of one of the articles dedicated by “El Universal” to this company by, “Belorusskiye novoski” informs.

Joseph Poliszuk, the author of this and one more article about “Belzarubezhstroy” expresses an opinion that activities of BZS in the tropic country have become one of the reasons for the arrest of Viktar Shautsou, a Belarusian businessman who was its Chairman of the Management Board.

About 4 years ago Belarus promised to construct 17,500 flats in Caracas and Maracay, but these promises have not been fulfilled, Piliszuk writes in “El Universal”. At the same time, the author notes that analogous projects with Russians and Iranians are making headway successfully.

It should be noted that Belarusians do not build themselves in Venezuela, but hire Venezuelan builders, and supervise them with the help of military interpreters. Venezuelans’ working conditions are harmful and arduous, their salaries are not paid on time, they are fired often. Rumours are that on April 29, 2911 Venezuelan workers even started a strike against unjust attitude of BZS to them.

Construction was accompanied by activities of the so-called “fittings mafia” which was engaged in iron trafficking. There was a theft of construction materials had taken place. As Venezuelans believe, it happened with knowledge of the company’s leadership.

The newspaper asked a representative of BZS Andrei Atrashkevich whether the arrest of Viktar Shautsou was connected with the situation in Venezuela. Atrashkevich does not agree to such an opinion, he believes that the businessman had been arrested in connection with his activities in Iraq.

The Venezuelan journalist went to Maracay to find out how matters with the Belarusian construction stand. As it turned out, in particular, on December 29 last year 720 flats were ready on turnkey basis (about 4% of the planned 17,500), but since then and until January 3, 2012 there was no electricity and indoor sanitation there! Work continued even after first dwellers settled in.

On the pictures published by “El Universal” one can see substandard housing in Maracay flats built by Belarusians.

One of the flats in Maracay built by Belarusians has no electricity and water

Viktar Shautsou (Viktor Shevtsov) was not only acquainted with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, but with the late leaders of Iraq and Libya Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi. Among other things, he was the chairman of the Belarusian-Iraqi Friendship Society, was a member of the Belarusian-Libyan Commission on Economic, Trade and Scientific cooperation. He became the head of “Belzarubezhstroy” in 2007. This company became a main contract holder on deliveries of Belarusian vehicles and equipment, and a customer and independent work contractor in all construction projects in Venezuela, which cost billion dollars.

Viktar Shautsou is suspected of a theft on a large scale. As it was informed earlier, in October 2011 a criminal case was opened against top managers of JSV “Belzarubezhstroy”. Investigators checked whether Shautsou had been involved in unlawful acts related to preparation and implementation of economic projects in Venezuela.

“The grounds for opening a criminal case were information about his involvement in theft of money at bank account of one of a bank. According to preliminary evaluation of investigators, the sum of money stolen exceeds $10 mln. Taking in custody was chosen as a measure of restraint for Shautsou, and at the moment he is kept in the KGB remand prison,” told deputy spokesperson of the KGB Artur Strekh on air of Belarus 1 TC channel.

At the press-conference in Minsk on December 23, 2011 Alyaksandr Lukashenka stated that in case of compensation for the damage to the state Viktar Shautsou would be released. “You had done damage to the state – so place money on the table, at double rate, and you may go. If he would not pay money, he will stay in prison,” Lukashenka said.

At the same time he underlined that it was a usual economic crime connected with cash withdrawal and wrongful acts during construction of a building in Venezuela. “It is a usual criminal case, we have many of such cases. We even have much more serious cases,” he noted. However he added: “It is not the first time this mister comes into view of law enforcing agencies.”

Venezuela is one of the most important allies on Belarus in the world stage, that is why the scandal with “Belzarubezhstroy” has not only economic, but political undertones as well.