Aliaksei Ivanavich Aleksin (Belarusian: Аляксей Іванавіч Алексін; Aleksey Ivanovich Oleksin, Russian: Алексей Иванович Олексин) is a Belarusian businessman (petrochemical wholesaler and tobacco tycoon), who is closely associated with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

International sanctions

In summer 2021, the European Union, USA, Canada and Switzerland imposed sanctions on Aleksin as a "wallet" of Lukashenko.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]}

In 2022, Aleksin,^[12] Bremino Group^[13] and NNK^[14] were added to the sanctions lists of Ukraine and Japan, while Inter-Tobacco, Inna Aleksina and Vitaly Aleksin (Aliaksei Aleksin's wife and son, respectively) were blacklisted by Canada,^[15] whereas Vitaly and his brother Dzmitry Aleksin were sanctioned by the European Union and Switzerland.^[16][17]

In August 2023, the United States added Inna, Vital and Dzmitry Aleksin to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.^[18]

Early life and education

The early life of Aleksin is almost unknown. He graduated from the Lomonosov aerial technical military academy as a helicopter technician, then he graduated from Novosibirsk State Academy of Water Transport.^[19][20]

Career

Aleksin worked in the Belvneshtorginvest company, which is owned by the Presidential administration of Belarus. His first steps in business are unknown. It was speculated that in Belvneshtorginvest Aleksin oversaw petrochemicals exports carried by Yury Chyzh. After Chyzh was included in EU's travel ban list, Aleksin became the nominal owner of his petrochemical wholesale companies (Energo Oil, Belneftegaz, Neonafta).^{[21][20][19][3]}

After Yury Chyzh fell into disgrace, Aleksin was reported to become an associate of senator and businessman Alexander Shakutin.^[19]

Assets and controversies

According to a 2021 journalistic investigation, Oleksin and Aliaksandr Zaitsau received residence permits in Lithuania in 2012 and opened several companies there. Although these companies operated without significant business activity and without staff, more than 46 million euros were processed through their accounts.^[22][23]

In 2019, Ezhednevnik magazine put Aleksin on 4th place in its top-200 of Belarusian wealthy and influential businessmen.^[24] His main assets are SZAO Energo Oil and ODO Belneftegaz.^[25] As of 2015, he owned 60% of these companies directly, and 40% was owned by his wife Inna.^[26][27] In 2021, Aleksin has transferred his share to his sons, junior Vitaly and senior Dzmitry.^[28]

In 2015, Aleksin bought 98.97% of Cyprus-based parent company of Belarusian bank MTB (MTBank) from two American and Belarusian investment companies.^[25] As of 1 October 2020, MTBank's assets were Rbls 1,497,800,000 (US$590 million).^[29] In 2021, Aleksin sold MTBank's parent company to Dubai-based Stoneva Limited allegedly owned by Lebanese-born Romeo Abdo,^[30] but European banks suspected this deal to be a fictitious sale and asked the new owner to clarify it.^[31]

In 2020, it was speculated that Aleksin has left petrochemicals wholesale business and set focus on tobacco market.^[32]

Accodring to Euroradio, Aleksin's family owned nearly quarter of Synesis Group, an IT company which is under EU sanctions because of close collaboration with Lukashenko's regime.^[33]

Tobacco

"Tabakerka" cigarettes stand on a bus stop in Minsk

Inter-Tobacco cigarettes factory near Minsk

In 2017–2018, Aleksin's Energo Oil company entered Belarusian tobacco market with help of Lukashenko (later Aleksin created Inter-Tobacco company to manage these projects). He got a special permission of Lukashenko to import cigarettes, while previously only one state-owned company had such permission. Later his companies became the exclusive wholesale and retail operators of the state-owned Grodno tobacco factory; they also got a special permission to import tobacco blends to make cigarettes. Aleksin also started to build new tobacco factory in Minsk.^{[36][37][38][39]}

Mass installation of new cigarettes stands "Tabakerka" (Tobacco box) by Aleksin's companies became a major public controversy.^[40][41] In different Belarusian cities people signed a number of petitions to remove these stands or at least install them far from hospitals, schools and other public facilities.^[40] The association of entrepreneurs "Perspective" called on authorities to treat small businesses equally as Aleksin's company: they claimed that local authorities in Minsk previously removed private stands from streets, while Aleksin did not face a similar problem.^[42]

In 2020, Russian journalist Tina Kandelaki called to stop cigarettes smuggling to Russia, claiming Aleksin to be one of the main figures of the "Belarusian tobacco mafia".^[43]

On 16 February 2021, Alexander Lukashenko granted monopoly on imports of IQOS (heated tobacco product) to Aleksin's Energo Oil.^[44]

In 2021 Foreign Policy magazine claimed that Aleksin is one of the main alleged organizers of cigarette smuggling to the European Union.^[45]

References