Media: Russian Oligarch Gutseriev Wanted To Shop Lukashenka To FBI

• 3.10.2024, 15:29

In exchange for lifting sanctions.

Czech publications Denik N and Respekt, citing classified documents from the Czech police and intelligence services, found out that Russian billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev tried to sell Lukashenka and Putin's secrets to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2022 in exchange for lifting Western sanctions against himself and his business.

The mediator in the secret negotiations was the Czech intelligence services and a double agent from Georgia, who got a job at the National Center for Combating Organized Crime in Prague (NCOZ) and is now under investigation.

As reported by the Czech publications, the intelligence officer from Georgia (only his initials are mentioned - L. G.) helped Gutseriev meet twice with FBI representatives after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The oligarch offered the Americans information about the plans of Vladimir Putin and Aliaksandr Lukashenka and asked for Western sanctions to be lifted in return. The deal ultimately did not take place and the sanctions against the billionaire were never lifted.

Russian oligarch Mikhail Gutseriev was subject to EU sanctions against Belarus on June 21, 2021, imposed in part due to the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk. The EU Council explained the imposition of sanctions against the Russian businessman by the fact that he is a long-time friend of Lukashenka and, thanks to this, has influence on the political elites of Belarus.