How Tobacco Oligarch Oleksin Paid Off Lukashenka with Expensive Cars

Two Maybachs and some rare cars were among the "gifts".

Businessman Aleksei Oleksin used expensive cars to pay Lukashenka for the "special conditions" of work in the Belarusian market, the authors of the investigation claim. The text was published by the international Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

Until recently, the Belarusian tobacco industry was almost entirely controlled by the state, the investigators recall. However, three years ago - August 2018 - Oleksin and his company Energo-Oil obtained exclusive rights to all cigarettes produced at the Neman tobacco factory in Grodno. In addition, Energo-Oil received a rare license to import cigarettes, as well as the right to a network of kiosks Tabakerka.

In October 2018, Oleksin gave eight cars to Lukashenka's security service. He gave another one in November.

"Some of the cars given by Oleksin are very valuable or unique," the authors of the investigation claim. Two Maybach 62S (worth $500,000 each) and several vintage cars were among the gifts, including a 1958 Chevrolet Impala (worth about $113,000) and a 1967 GAZ-96 assembly.

Lukashenka gave a ride to Russian President Vladimir Putin around his native Alexandria in October 2018 in a similar car.

Lithuania suspects that Oleskin may be involved in smuggling cigarettes from Belarus.

Oleskin came under sanctions as one of the "wallets" of the Lukashenka regime. After it, he began to get rid of a number of assets.