Priorbank Ex-Head Kastiuchenka Sentenced To 3.5 Years In Prison

He had been Chairman of the Board at Priorbank since 1990.

Siarhei Kastiuchenka, former Chairman of the Board at Priorbank, was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison under the article on tax evasion (Article 243 of the Criminal Code), according to Nasha Niva.

According to the publication, formal claims against Kastiuchenka arose because of the Priorlife accumulative insurance system, a legal scheme used by bankers to withdraw dividends without paying income tax.

However, in reality, businessmen consider Kastiuchenka's case to be political. “There are rumours that shortly before his arrest, he refused Lukashenka’s favourite, hockey coach Dzmitry Baskau, a request to finance Dynamo HC,” the newspaper writes.

Kastiuchenka had been Chairman of the Board at Priorbank since 1990. Information about his detention appeared in March of this year.