Belarusian police have learned to detect bribes paid in cryptocurrency. This was stated at a press conference of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of the Interior Ministry by Dzianis Harlukovich. According to him, cryptocurrencies have entered the everyday practice of corrupt officials over the past three years.
“For the past three years, we have seen that corrupt officials receive bribes in the form of cryptocurrency. If we assess last year, the largest bribe received was in this form and amounted to the equivalent of 360,000 US dollars. Subsequently, an almost identical amount was found in the suspect’s wallets, the origin of which is being established, but this indicates that the corrupt official systematically received large-scale bribes. These funds have already been seized for the benefit of the state,” he said.
According to him, information systems have also been introduced that make it possible to identify signs of corruption without conducting operational measures.
“At present, the detection of corruption crimes is carried out not only by operational investigative methods. Previously, the overwhelming majority — almost 90% — were identified exclusively through this method. Now, information and analytical systems have emerged that allow us to detect signs of corruption practically without leaving our offices. Therefore, work in this area and the introduction of new technologies will continue actively. As for methods of detecting bribes paid in cryptocurrency, both our law enforcement agencies and foreign states are already interested in them. So, our small know-how on how to detect them is quite valuable,” he said.