The Council of Ministers has terminated its contract with BT Telekamunikatsyi (BT Telecommunications), a company said to be owned by Belarusian tycoon Uladzimir Peftsiyew that is targeted by the European Union`s sanctions.
In early 2011, the Council of Ministers contracted BT Telekamunikatsyi and Cyprus-based GTECH Global Services Corporation Ltd to create a computer system to control gambling businesses in the country.
Under the Belarusian government’s gambling industry concept approved in 2011, all casinos and slot machine arcades were to be connected to a single computer network that would monitor the cash flows of the establishments.
The contract with GTECH has also been terminated, according to the Council of Ministers` press office.
BT Telekamunikatsyi is controlled by Mr. Peftsiyew who is described by the European Union as Alyaksandr Lukashenka`s chief economic advisor and a key financial sponsor of his regime.
Mr. Peftsiyew is under the 27-nation bloc`s travel ban and asset freeze. Some of his companies, including BT Telekamunikatsyi, have been banned from doing business in the European Union since June 2011.
