Lukashenko’s “wallets” keep Minsk-World project alive despite sanctions
Serbian businessmen from the Karić family created a network of companies to continue construction of the largest multifunctional complex, Minsk-World, after the project’s customer, Dana Astra, fell under European sanctions.
The Minsk-World complex. Source: minskworld.by
Four new companies were registered in Minsk in the spring of 2021: Luxudo, Dubai Investment, Grand Atrium Development and G Five Construction. Buro discovered that businessman Mostafa El-Tobgy was behind all of these firms. This 44-year-old British national is a close friend of the Karić family.
We have previously encountered a similar method of circumventing sanctions: the creation of new companies and their registration in the names of trusted individuals.
The offices of Luxudo, Dubai Investment, Grand Atrium Development and G Five Construction are all located within the Minsk-World complex. All four companies are linked by a phone number and email address used by the complex’s customer, Dana Astra.
Luxudo and G Five Construction are building new blocks in the Minsk-World complex, while Dubai Investment is constructing an international financial centre. In addition to housing, Grand Atrium Development has built Avia Mall, a shopping and public centre.
First from the right: Jelena Lazarević, daughter of Bogoljub Karić; second from the right: Goran Lazarević, Bogoljub Karić’s son-in-law; third from the right: Bojan Karić, his nephew; first from the left: Mostafa El-Tobgy. Source: instagram.com
In 2024, officials discovered maintenance violations at construction sites in Minsk-World. A year later, Aleksandr Lukashenko ordered the completion of long-lasting construction sites in the capital. Of the thirteen sites, eight were located in the Karićes’ complex.
“They came here to work, signed investment agreements and contracts with us, and made commitments. If they want to continue working here, they must fulfil them”, said Lukashenko.
Aleksandr Lukashenko meeting with Bogoljub (first from the left) and Dragomir Karić. Source: president.gov.by
The Belarusian government has classified the financial indicators of Luxudo, Dubai Investment, Grand Atrium Development and G Five Construction for the period 2022-2024.
SANCTIONS
The first to be targeted by Western sanctions for their links to the regime of Aleksandr Lukashenko were Serbian businessmen Karićes and their assets. In December 2020, the EU blacklisted two Belarus-based companies: Dana Astra and Dana Holdings. In August 2021, the US joined the EU in imposing sanctions on Karićes, describing them as “Lukashenko’s wallets”. The Belarusian companies Dana Astra, Emirates Blue Sky and Dubai Water Front, along with the Cypriot company Dana Holdings and its former beneficiary Nebojša Karić, were subject to American sanctions. In June 2022, the EU imposed sanctions on Bogoljub Karić, the father of Nebojša Karić.
Nebojša (left) and Bogoljub (right) Karić in front of the National Library in Minsk. Source: facebook.com
However, the Serbian family acted two weeks before the first restrictions were imposed. In December 2020, the Karić family’s Belarusian businesses were taken over by Mustafa Al Tobghi, a close associate of the Serbian businessmen. Around the same time, another associate, Nagip Behluli, became the beneficiary of the Cypriot company Dana Holdings.
The Karićes appealed the European sanctions in court, but were unsuccessful. In the United States, the situation is different. In August, the US Treasury Department removed restrictions on the Cypriot company Dana Holdings and its owner, Nebojša Karić. This decision was made amid ongoing negotiations between the Donald Trump administration and the Belarusian authorities regarding the release of political prisoners. RFE/RL’s Belarus service’s source has confirmed that the decision to lift sanctions is not related to negotiations, but rather a technical step.
It transpired that the Cypriot firm Dana Holdings was liquidated in June this year, which could explain its exclusion from the “black list”. The reasons for lifting the sanctions against Nebojša Karić are unclear.
“The strength and integrity of our sanctions depend not only on our ability to put people on a special list, but also on our willingness to remove them from it, because the ultimate goal of sanctions is to encourage accountability and change behaviour, not to punish”, a US official explained to Buro.
Dana Astra, Emirates Blue Sky, and Dubai Waterfront, all based in Belarus, remain under US sanctions. In October 2023, the names of two developments were changed: Dubai Waterfront became Arkora Development and Emirates Blue Sky became Library Lane. The former built the Tchaikovsky and Vivaldi residential complexes in Minsk, as well as the Capital Palace business centre on Kastrychnitskaya Square. The latter constructed the Mayak Minsk and Park Chelyuskintsev residential complexes, as well as the Dana Mall shopping and entertainment centre.
We sent enquiries to both Bogoljub Karić and the representatives of the Serbian family, but did not receive a response from either.