Oil-for-Food: GOB Not Investigating Self

UNCLAS MINSK 000413 SIPDIS DEPT ALSO FOR IO/PSC LIZ PARKER SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KFIN PGOV IZ BO SUBJECT: Oil-for-Food: GOB Not Investigating Self Refs: (A) State 40595, (B) 05 Minsk 300 ¶1. The GOB has taken and almost certainly will not take any actions as a result of the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) looking into Iraqi Oil-for-Food violations (ref A). Post asked the MFA if there was any domestic investigation. The MFA replied that this is a complicated situation, and that Post should submit an official, written request if its wants an answer. ¶2. Most of the Belarusian entities mentioned in the IIC report are GOB-owned. This includes Belpharm (a state monopoly provider of pharmaceuticals),Belmetalenergo, and Belneftekhim (a major state concern, which controls 40 major companies, responsible for 30% of Belarus' industrial output and 35% of all exports). Lada-OMC is believed to be a partially state-owned joint venture. Likewise, the IIC report refers to a "Mr. Leonic Kosak." This refers to Leonid Kozik, who was Belarusian Prime Minister from 1998 to 2000, represented Belarus in the Belarus-Russia Union State from 2000 to 2001, and was Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration and Deputy Prime Minister from 2001 to 2002. He is now head of the state-controlled Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus and was recently placed on the list of Belarusian officials denied entry by the EU and its member countries. The Belarusian Liberal-Democratic Party, named in the IIC report, also has very close ties with the Lukashenko regime. KROL