The country's Investigative Committee submitted the materials to the prosecutor's office for court referral, reported the publication 'Zerkalo'. According to the investigation, a 42-year-old man prepared a study for a foreign organization with 'false information' about the country's healthcare policy. The document was allegedly created on behalf of a company that was not accredited and was not based on 'comprehensive analytics'.
'The accused did not actually conduct analytical work in the area of interest, but based on individual pieces of information available in open sources, prepared biased results that met the 'customer's' requests for their subsequent use to the detriment of national security and state interests,' stated the Investigative Committee.
Two Minsk residents also conducted surveys 'without permission', studying citizens' attitudes towards integration with the EU. The IC claims that the survey participants had a 'deliberately negative' attitude towards the authorities, and the research results 'were used by unfriendly countries to harm the Republic of Belarus'.
All three were charged with 'treason' and 'evasion of insurance contributions', and the man is also suspected of creating a 'substitution of labor relations' scheme, facing up to 15 years in prison, the publication notes.