Lukashenko's Oligarchs Are Being Forced Out Of Russia

The courts are showing no leniency toward businesspeople close to the dictator.

Is it conceivable that an ordinary Belarusian minister, tax official, business partner, or the like—in their right mind and even with good reason—would dare to get involved with businesses close to Alexander Lukashenko and his family? Absolutely not. That is why, when problems arise—for example, in Russia—this becomes, for the “family business”, perhaps a culture shock. And such shocks have become more frequent lately. Russian courts show no mercy to Lukashenko’s “neither titles nor names” and are imposing tax penalties and orders to repay debts on them.

No signal

The more old age—and everything that comes with it—takes its toll on Alexander Lukashenko, the more reckless, greedy, and brazen his inner circle becomes. Their goal is to grab what they can while they still can. To grab it before anyone denies them what they’ve set their sights on. And before anyone dares to raise objections about how it’s being taken.

In Russia, which certain members of Lukashenko’s business elite also have their sights set on, their status of immunity, however, does not hold. Because for the local “Kremlin bigwigs,” Lukashenko is not an authority. And he never has been. Therefore, for their pocket regulators, references to him fall on deaf ears. They have their own rules that must be followed. If you don’t comply, expect lawsuits and fines—or something worse.

The fact that local rules aren’t rewritten at the behest of Drozdov has been driven home over the past few months to several newly minted nouveau riche figures close to Lukashenko.

The “Fish Queen” Without Shrimp and With a “Black Mark” on Her Currency

Lyudmila Neronskaya, a close associate of the family of Alexander Lukashenko’s main heir, Viktor, owns nearly all companies in Belarus that sell liquefied gas, a stake in the top private medical clinic “Merci,” and a couple of brand-new fish-processing plants. This year, “Belryba,” which was quietly privatized, was added to her holdings. In addition, the businesswoman is building a chain of brand-name stores.

However, in Russia, where she acquired the fishing company “Soyuznye Rybnye Promysly,” she lacks “resources.”

At first, she didn’t have enough influence to get Rosrybolovstvo to increase the 2026 fishing quota for her Vladivostok trawlers, as Neronskaya had requested.

Not only did the Russian agency fail to grant the Belarusian “fish queen’s” request, but it also cut the quota—because the previous one had not been fully utilized. Rosrybolovstvo also ignored the Minsk businesswoman’s urgent requests to obtain permits to catch higher-value fish species and shrimp in Russian territorial waters.

And recently, as Plan B. learned, Lyudmila Neronskaya’s Vladivostok business came under scrutiny by Primorsky Krai tax authorities. They paid no heed to the fact that she enjoys immunity in Belarus. As a result of an audit of “Soyuznye Rybnye Promysly,” they uncovered the “worst of all offenses”—violations of currency laws.

The company was subjected to an administrative penalty for this.

The court documents do not specify the nature of the violations. However, the management and owners of “Soyuznye Rybnye Promysly” were outraged. They have filed a lawsuit demanding that the audit conducted by the Primorsky Krai Tax Inspectorate regarding “compliance with foreign exchange laws and its results” be declared illegal, and that the orders “to rectify the identified violations of foreign exchange laws” be declared invalid. Neronskaya’s company is also insisting on the annulment of the administrative penalty.

The case is in full swing. And it will be interesting to see whether the plaintiff will have enough grounds to defend itself, even if a call comes from Drozdov.

Lukashenko’s personal tennis player with a fine

Sergei Teterin has risen in recent years to become a major businessman thanks to the patronage of Alexander Lukashenko. However, he did not make a “call to a friend” due to problems in Russia.

Alexander Lukashenko’s personal tennis coach remained in the shadows for many years. He began turning his useful connections into business ventures only in the second half of the 2010s. But he has already achieved impressive scale. Sergei Teterin’s business empire spans real estate, construction, advertising, the alcohol trade, and agriculture.

A native of Minsk, he registered as a farmer, choosing for this purpose Lukashenko’s hometown—the village of Khimy, not far from Kopys and his patron’s residence. Belarusian investigators from “BureauMedia” provided a detailed account of the rise of Teterin’s agricultural empire, the core of which is the “Start TS” farm. In recent years, Teterin’s operation has expanded to include two agricultural enterprises in the Orsha District—"Mezhevo-Agro" and "Zubrevichi-Agro"—that were transferred to his management. One of their main products is marbled beef.

Teterin’s agribusiness has also entered the international market—specifically, Russia. However, there are some nuances.

As Plan B. noted, based on yet another court case, “Start TS” decided not to pay 150,000 Russian rubles (about $1,800) to its Moscow-based contractor, “Algoi.” The latter waited for the money for nearly two years and, having received nothing, filed a lawsuit this year. Now, according to a Russian court ruling, Teterin must add about $1,000 in late fees to that amount and pay court costs.

That sounds unusual. I wonder how many Belarusian businesspeople would like to hear a similar ruling on their cases?

Nikolai Veretelnikov, planbmedia.io

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