English

Lukashenka denies wealth allegations

Alyaksandr Lukashenka has denied that he has amassed a fortune worth billions of dollars during his 18-year rule.

"They reproached me for having a fortune of $11 billion," he said in an interview broadcast by the Mir Television and Radio Company of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on October 7. "Where could I take it from? There is no oil or gas. Nothing has been privatized. Where such revenue could come from?"

He said that the allegations had been meant to hurt his image during an election campaign. "But the people did not believe it," he said.

According to Mr. Lukashenka, he suggested that the United States could keep the money if it found it. "No one has found and taken away Lukashenka's money so far. And the main thing is that people don't believe it and they are right. Yes, Lukashenka is not all honey, but he is fair," he said.

Mr. Lukashenka recalled the 1994 presidential election that brought him to power. "Lame people, people who had been bedridden for years, the ill, they did not trust their children, they stood up and went [to the polls], some were carried on stretchers, but they went to vote for Lukashenka. What, can I let them down?" he said.

"I would be a scumbag, an idiot to cheat on my people," he said, adding that he had never made promises that he could not keep. //BelaPAN