30 May 2002
Former collective farm director faces criminal charges

 Prosecutors have instituted criminal proceedings against the former director of the Belarus collective farm in the Brest region.
Spiridon Podshibyakin, a member of the local soviet (elected council) is charged with stealing meat from the farm to the amount of 4 million rubels (about $2,300 at the official exchange rate on May 29).
In March, collective farmers forced Mr. Podshibyakin to resign, saying that he had bought a car and built a house at the farm's expense, while they did not get their pay for several months. Investigators later said that the director had forged documents to steal meat to the total amount of 4 million rubels. Investigators said that Mr. Podshibyakin sold the
meat to Ukraine. The law enforcement agencies want the former director
stripped of his immunity and arrested.