MINSK, August 12. /TASS/. Belarusian law enforcement agencies have found evidence proving that members of ex-presidential nominee Viktor Babariko’s campaign team were involved in riots taking place in the country, the Belarus-1 TV channel reported on Wednesday.

According to the TV channel, "there are facts that confirm" that members of Babariko’s campaign team "were organizing, coordinating and funding riots," as well as "inciting their participants to aggressively confront law enforcement officers."

The TV channel also said, citing the Interior Ministry, that although the riots lost in scale the night before, the level of aggression against law enforcement officers remained extremely high. Belarus-1 added that a probe was underway into reports about attempts to bribe protesters. In particular, about $10,000 were seized from a suspect detained near Minsk’s Dana Moll shopping center.

Belgazprombank case

Viktor Babariko, who headed Belgazprombank for 20 years, sought to participate in the 2020 presidential election in Belarus. On June 11, the Belarusian State Control Committee announced that searches had been conducted at the bank and a criminal case had been opened over large-scale tax evasion and the legalization of illegally-obtained large amounts of money. Babariko claimed that the situation was politically motivated.

Babariko was later detained on suspicion of orchestrating illegal banking activities. Babariko’s son Eduard, who headed his father’s campaign team, was also taken to a pre-trial detention center. About 30 people were arrested in the Belgazprombank case.

Belarus held a presidential election on August 9. According to preliminary results, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko received 80.08% of the vote, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya garnered 10.09% and the other three presidential candidates gained less than 2%. Protests erupted in the country's capital of Minsk and several other cities following the presidential vote, spiraling into clashes between protesters and law enforcement officers. According to the Belarusian Interior Ministry, about 3,000 people were detained during protests while dozens of police officers and demonstrators suffered injuries.