Head of Criminal Investigations at the Ministry of Internal Affairs saw the KGB pre-trial detention center's exercise yard from his office window, and then became a prisoner himself

Anatol Savitski. Photo: "Minsk-Novosti"

The events described took place in 2024 when the "Hippo" case began. Alexander Lukashenka was outraged by the salaries of top retail company managers, and security forces raided offices, causing havoc. In particular, Vasil Varfalameeu, the owner of "Belvilesden," was detained. There had been no prior information about Savitski's specific detention.

Read also:Belarusian oil magnate and co-owner of "Hippo" Vasil Varfalameeu arrested

«An elderly, already gray-haired man entered the cell. He said: «Well, good evening!» There were no free spots, so they offered him to settle under the lower bunk. It was quite low there, little space — he simply couldn't fit. So we somehow pushed our things aside to make room for him. And it also needed to be away from the bucket. (Meaning a bucket — not all cells in the KGB pre-trial detention center have sewage, so prisoners use a bucket, which is emptied once every 24 hours accompanied by a KGB officer. — NN).

He lay down, and in the following days, we talked, and he admitted that he was a former police officer. And not just an officer, but the head of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Anatol Savitski. The windows of his former office looked directly onto the exercise yard of Amerikanka, the KGB pre-trial detention center. «I used to look down, saw people, and wondered: who are they and why did they end up there?» Savitski said.

He didn't immediately reveal his biography because he wanted to figure out who he was sharing the cell with.

We even laughed: did he really think we would stab him? He was genuinely scared, imagining that the inmates in the KGB pre-trial detention center were such that a real bandit could sharpen a spoon and stab him. But in our cell, there were only intellectuals.

He recounted, "Remember the explosion at the stele in Minsk in 2008? That's why I was removed, because I didn't prevent it."

And he went to work for private companies, eventually becoming the acting director of "Belvilesden" — which is the "Hippo" chain of stores, — our interlocutor told us.

Savitski explained the essence of the initiated criminal case. According to him, the security forces found some affiliated company that provided services to the main legal entity. This was seen as an attempt to evade taxes, and a lot of people from both "Hippo" and that company were arrested.

«And his position was: "But the company was founded before I started working. I didn't know there was anything there." And they told him, "You knew everything, you scoundrel." Overall, the issue there was about paying. At the same time, the assessed amount of damage was, in his understanding, minuscule, and he was ready to agree and compensate it immediately. But then some games started with additional demands on the owners, and he saw himself as a hostage to exert pressure on them.

Then some less significant people began to be released — accountants, for example.

Savitski believed that he would also be released soon, that everything would be sorted out, and he would definitely be released, as he was innocent.

This is the first hope of any person who ends up in a pre-trial detention center. Investigators do not dispel this illusion, and we did not dissuade him either. Well, let him believe he'll be out tomorrow if not today.

This ultimately backfired on him, because one day a voice roared through the window: "Savitski, out!" He rejoiced, thinking this was freedom. He warmly bid farewell to everyone, leaving us all his belongings. Our door locked, but we heard the neighboring one clatter. He was simply transferred to another cell. And he arrived there completely empty-handed, without anything, even leaving his toothbrush," the interlocutor added.

It is likely that Savitski was eventually released and returned to the same job. Online, one can find documents of "Belvilesden" for 2025, signed by "Acting General Director A.I. Savitski."

***

Павялічыць

Anatol Savitski in 2007. Photo: Sb.by

Anatol Savitski was born in the village of Siakerka, Bialynichy district. He began his service in the department for solving vehicle thefts of the criminal investigation department of the Minsk City Executive Committee's Internal Affairs Directorate in 1995. He held the position of senior operative for particularly important cases.

In 2001, he became deputy head of the criminal investigation department. In 2003, he was appointed head of the criminal investigation department. In 2008, he was dismissed due to age. Rank — police lieutenant colonel.

In 2009, Savitski was mentioned in the report of then Prosecutor General Ryhor Vasilevich, who accused several state employees of illegally obtaining land plots. Savitski responded that he was already retired and considered the inclusion of his name in Vasilevich's list a mistake.

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