OREANDA-NEWS. October 24, 2008. Mandatory declaration of incomes during depositing will be lifted in Belarusian banks following a decision taken by the President of Belarus and the National Bank. The decision was announced by head of state Alexander Lukashenko at the final joint session of the Council of the Republic and the third convocation House of Representatives of the National Assembly on October 23.

“Apart from that, we should abandon the outdated system of control of power-wielding agencies over bank deposits. A decisive step in the fight against bureaucracy should be made,” said the President.

“It looked like everything has been done properly. Relevant de-bureaucratisation laws have been adopted. But it turned out people do not benefit from the effect,” remarked the President.

“Today I am told that foreign citizens bring considerable money for depositing in our banks. Because in Belarus corruption is not that strong like in other countries and people trust the authorities. But when people go to banks, they are told they must declare the source and ways the money was earned,” said the President.

“Certainly, we are not abandoning the existing international money-laundering principles and standards. But excuse me, why should we hurry ahead of the entire planet?” said Alexander Lukashenko.

In view of the facts the head of state made the decision to annul the mandatory declaration of incomes during depositing in banks. The relevant document will be signed one of these days. It will state that any controlling power-wielding agencies will be removed out of the banking industry.

According to the President, the time the control by the power-wielding agencies was needed is over. “They will not be able to request information about deposits of natural and juridical persons without a criminal case in progress. Even if a criminal case is filed, we will try to minimise the procedures,” said the President.