The founder of the controversial battery plant in Brest, Viktar Lemeshheuski, has been detained, Nasha Niva reported. The reason for the claims against him remains unknown to journalists.
The 56-year-old Lemeshheuski graduated from the Aerospace Faculty of the Moscow Aviation Institute. He first worked in Pinsk before moving to the national level. He ranks 58th among the most successful businesspeople in Belarus.
In the late 2010s, Lemeshheuski became known for building the controversial battery plant in Brest. Despite protests from local residents, the facility was completed.
Lemeshheuski spent several months in the KGB pre-trial detention centre, later sold his share in the plant, but eventually returned to the battery business.
His business partner at the company “Akkumulyatarny Alyans” (Battery Alliance) is sports official Dzmitry Baskau, an associate of Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who owns 40% of the company. Another 40% are held by Lemeshheuski together with his partner Alyaksandr Papok, while 20% belongs to the Brest Regional Executive Committee.
At one time, Lemeshheuski’s business developed with the support of Ivan Naskevich, chairman of the Investigative Committee from 2015 to 2021 — a former Pinsk prosecutor, neighbour, and contemporary of Lemeshheuski. Naskevich now works for a legal entity that manages the 1AK-Group holding, which includes Battery Alliance.