--- title: "Belarus Plans to Replace Official Asset Declarations with Financial Monitoring: Experts Debate the Motives" description: "The Belarusian Prosecutor General's Office is discussing replacing annual official declarations with a financial monitoring system. Experts see this as both a simplification of procedures and an increase in security services' control over the state apparatus." date: 2026-11-10T17:13:39.318Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/belarus-officials-declarations-financial-monitoring tags: [belarus, government, anti-corruption, officials, financial-control, transparency] author: "Alexander Buran" publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Belarus Plans to Replace Official Asset Declarations with Financial Monitoring: Experts Debate the Motives ## Key Points - Prosecutor General Dzmitry Hora announced in parliament a potential shift from annual declarations to a financial monitoring system - The initiative comes from the House of Representatives; specific monitoring mechanisms have not yet been disclosed - Experts are divided: Mozheiko sees reduced burden, while Kovalkin sees increased dependence on security agencies - Details on Belarusian officials' incomes remain private, a fact experts associate with weak anti-corruption policy Belarusian Prosecutor General Andrei Shved (note: context corrected to official position held by Dzmitry Hora) stated during a parliamentary session that the annual requirement for state officials to file income and asset declarations may be replaced by a financial monitoring system. According to him, the initiative comes from the House of Representatives, and the goal of the reform is to more effectively control officials' assets and combat illicit enrichment. At the time of the statement, the Prosecutor General's Office did not specify which body would conduct the monitoring, what data would be used, or how the origin of assets would be verified. ### What Changes in the Procedure Currently, Belarusian officials annually report their income and assets to the state. In some cases, the same obligation falls on spouses and adult close relatives if they live with the civil servant and share a household budget. The new system, as follows from statements in parliament, implies that the collection and analysis of financial information about officials will be conducted not by the official themselves, but by a regulatory body. According to experts, the cancellation of annual reporting does not mean the end of inspections — the control mechanism remains, but its architecture changes. ### Reduced Burden or Tool for Submission Political analyst Vadim Mozheiko interprets the initiative primarily as a reaction to staffing problems within the state apparatus. In his assessment, when it becomes difficult to attract specialists to civil service, the employer looks for ways to make the conditions more attractive, and simplifying procedures is one such lever. "This reduces the burden on state bodies, which will have to work less and process less information. It also improves the life of the officials themselves by removing the need to fill out endless declarations," Mozheiko explained. However, he emphasized that checks do not disappear; they simply shift from self-reporting to external control. ### Dependence on Security Agencies Vladimir Kovalkin, head of the "Vashy Hroshy" project and an expert on civil service reform, sees a different logic in the reform. He says that when an official submits a declaration themselves, the procedure is clear and predictable: "You submitted a declaration — you do it every year, the procedure is understandable." But when a declaration is not submitted and an inspection can happen at any time, "you can be checked at any minute, have things compared, and, for example, be jailed. This creates a different psychological mood." Kovalkin believes that, as a result, officials become more dependent on those conducting the inspections, which, in his assessment, strengthens the chain of command under security agencies. The expert also allows for the possibility that the monitoring mechanism could be used selectively in internal conflicts within the state apparatus. ### The Russian Context and Its Differences Kovalkin links the Belarusian initiative to changes in Russia, where mandatory annual filing for officials was abolished starting in 2026. In the expert's view, Belarusian authorities are adopting the Russian approach. However, he points out a significant difference: Russian declarations were previously public and used by journalists for investigations, whereas in Belarus, income information of civil servants was never disclosed to the public. "Little will change for Belarusians, but officials may become even more dependent on security forces: they will decide who to check," Kovalkin summarizes. ### The History of Closed Declarations The position of the Prosecutor General's Office on the publicity of declarations has shifted over the last few years. Alexander Konyuk, who headed the department until 2020, argued against publication in 2015, claiming that details about officials' assets could serve as a "guide for robbers." By 2019, Konyuk himself proposed publishing the declarations, explaining that citizens should know how officials and their relatives live and where their money comes from. The proposal included ministers, regional, and district heads. However, the matter never went beyond words: declarations remain closed to the public. Experts interviewed by DW view this as an indicator of weak anti-corruption policy in the country. "The higher the official's position, the more detailed the declaration should be, and registries should be open so that journalists and civil society can see how a person lives and what assets they and their relatives own," insists Kovalkin. ## Fact-Check & Sources - [В Беларуси чиновников хотят освободить от ежегодных деклараций. Зачем?](https://www.dw.com/ru/v-belarusi-cinovnikov-hotat-osvobodit-ot-ezegodnyh-deklaracij-zacem/a-79911136) - Primary source: Statement by Prosecutor General Hora in parliament, quotes from experts Mozheiko and Kovalkin, and the history of Konyuk's position. - [Региональных депутатов могут освободить от наказания за неподачу деклараций о доходах](https://www.forbes.ru/society/565278-regional-nyh-deputatov-mogut-osvobodit-ot-nakazania-za-nepodacu-deklaracij-o-dohodah) - Indirect context: Russian legislation regarding exemptions for regional deputies from filing declarations, confirming a regional trend toward deregulation. ## FAQ ### What specifically is proposed for the Belarusian declaration system? According to Prosecutor General Dzmitry Hora, the annual requirement for filing income and asset declarations may be replaced by financial monitoring. The initiative comes from the House of Representatives. Specific parameters, such as who conducts the monitoring and what data is used, remain undisclosed. ### Will citizens have access to official income information after the reform? No. Experts note that declarations were not public in Belarus before. According to Vladimir Kovalkin, the new monitoring system does not change this: data will remain within the state system. ### Is the Belarusian initiative related to changes in Russia? Expert Vladimir Kovalkin links the initiative to Russia's abolition of mandatory annual declaration filing starting in 2026. He notes that while Russian declarations were public, Belarusian ones never were, so little will change for ordinary citizens.