Ihar Zhylin, the former head of the Belarusian State Petrochemical Industry Concern (Belnaftakhim), has been released from a detention center after he paid compensation to the government for his illegal actions, Alyaksandr Lukashenka revealed at a government conference in Minsk on July 31.
According to Mr. Lukashenka, Mr. Zhylin used Belnaftakhim's money to pay for his lavish apartment and public funds to "support his wife."
The compensation paid by the ex-official was three times as much as he stole from the state, said Mr. Lukashenka.
Mr. Zhylin, 73, was arrested on a charge of abuse of office on July 1, according to media reports.
The Council of Ministers removed Mr. Zhylin from the position of Belnaftakhim chairman by its June 30 directive.
Born in Russia’s North Ossetia, Ihar Zhylin was a member of Russia’s legislature between 1990 and 1993. He appears not to have lived in Belarus until his appointment as director general at state-owned chemical company Hrodna Azot in August 2009. He became Belnaftakhim chairman on February 4, 2011.
