Fundraising for the seriously ill put on hold due to Lukashenka's new decree
Parents are desperate: some are already recording appeals to Lukashenka because they cannot open an account for collecting donations at a bank.
Belarus has introduced rules for fundraising to provide medical assistance within the framework of charitable activities — Aliaksandr Lukashenka signed Decree No. 304 "On Funds and Charitable Activities in the Healthcare Sector". Most of the norms came into force on September 12, 2026.
We explain how donations can now be collected in Belarus.
Simply put, money for medical aid can be collected by funds (if their sole or one of their goals is charitable activity in healthcare), public associations, and individuals.
An important nuance: a person can open a collection for themselves, their spouse, close relatives (parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren), or for a minor child if they are under their guardianship.
Therefore, for example, you cannot organize a collection for a nephew or an aunt — unless they are officially under your guardianship.
Moreover, you cannot open more than one charitable collection for the same purpose. That is, theoretically you can open one for yourself, one for a close relative (if someone else needs it), but you cannot open several collections in different banks for the treatment of one person.
If someone currently has several different charitable accounts open (which was done so people could transfer to the bank most convenient for them), the person is obliged to choose one within two months, transfer all other money there, and close the remaining accounts.
There is also an option to collect on a personal subscriber account of a mobile operator (if people simply transfer money to a phone). But now, money received on such a mobile account must be transferred daily to a charitable bank account.
One of the main points of Decree No. 304 is the de facto prohibition on independently managing money that was donated in excess of the declared collection amount. Previously, if a person, hypothetically, asked to collect 100 thousand rubles, and received 120 thousand, they could decide what to do with the excess. They could voluntarily transfer it to another collection, or spend it on their additional needs.
Now, if an ordinary person announces a collection, they must immediately determine the size of the collection. Funds and public associations are not obliged to do this.
If the declared amount has been collected, the person must announce the end of the collection within two days in the same sources where they previously announced the launch of the initiative. If the collection was promoted on TikTok and Instagram, its closure must also be announced there.
Collected money must be used exclusively for the purpose for which the collection was organized. Additionally, these funds may be used to pay for: travel of the person needing medical assistance to the place of its provision and back; travel of one accompanying person (if necessary); accommodation of the patient and accompanying person at the place of medical assistance.
However, donations cannot be spent on paying the salaries of people working under employment contracts.
Money received into the bank account beyond the limit must be transferred within three months to the charitable accounts of other individuals for whom the collection is still ongoing.
What will happen if someone fails to do this? The excess will be seized voluntarily-coercively: the bank will transfer information to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health, and then transfer the money to the charitable account of a state medical institution chosen by officials.
The same will be done if there are no transactions on the account within six months after the end of the collections.
The norms regulating the forced transfer of "over-limit" funds come into force on March 12, 2027.
Due to the new decree, people have already encountered problems.
Some Belarusians who have been collecting money for necessary medicines for a long time complain that they cannot receive donations via MTS numbers — the mobile operator has temporarily prohibited this until all necessary legal and technical issues are resolved.
Volha Karneychuk from Homel recorded a video appeal to Lukashenka. Her family fell into the trap of the new law. This year, little Emilia was diagnosed with a terrible disease — SMA type 2.
On September 11, a medical consultation took place at the Republican Research and Practical Center "Mother and Child". Doctors sent the official conclusion after lunch on September 14. On the same day, the mother contacted various banks to open a charitable collection for her daughter, but was refused everywhere.
"Banks refer to a temporary suspension of procedures due to the entry into force of Decree No. 304. The child's life depends on how quickly treatment begins, but due to a technical and legal pause in banks, I am deprived of the legal right to save my daughter."
Therefore, the mother is urgently looking for qualified lawyers and human rights defenders, and is also trying to reach Lukashenka through social networks.
Comments