Belarusian authorities discipline banks before denomination

Last week, the Belarusian law enforcement detained first deputy chairman of Belarusbank Gennady Gospodarik at the time of receipt of a bribe. The arrest of the second person in the largest Belarusian state bank took place before the denomination of the national currency. Most likely, the security forces have stepped up control over employees at large state-owned banks in the view of the upcoming denomination. Apparently, the authorities are attempting to take additional measures to step up discipline in the banking sector during the transition period in order to preserve stability on the foreign exchange market.