“The Whole of Minsk is Looking for Him.” Man Owes Tens of Thousands of Dollars

“I Never Thought He Could Have Such Problems”

Dmitry contacted Onliner.by. In 2021, he started lending money to his cousin. Gradually, the debt grew to $10,000, but despite a promissory note and numerous promises, the man was never able to return the money. Several years have passed since then, the debt amount has increased to $13,000, and Dmitry has managed to win a lawsuit and discovered that he is far from the only one trying to get money from his relative. He still cannot get the debt back.

— My cousin took the money, let's call him Alexander. We had a good relationship since childhood, and I never had any reason not to trust him. He worked at a bank in a good position, then went to Azerbaijan, where he also held a leadership role. Overall, he made the impression of a responsible person; I even turned to him for help when I was looking for a job.

When he started asking for money in 2021, I didn't really think twice about whether to give it or not. At first, they were small amounts — for example, for air tickets or some current expenses. Sometimes he would return something, then ask again — that's how the debt gradually grew to $10,000.

— We drew up a promissory note, and he promised to return everything by September 2021. But then came constant excuses: either his salary was delayed, or he was waiting for a bonus, or something else happened.

Павялічыць

— I periodically called him, asking when the money would be available, and each time he would very convincingly explain that everything would work out now and he would start paying off the debt. What's more, he almost never wrote first; all the initiative came from me.

“It Seemed to Me That If I Didn't Give Him More Money, I Wouldn't Get Anything Back at All”

— At some point, I realized that I wouldn't achieve anything with just conversations, so I decided to go to court, although my cousin strongly asked me not to. I paid the state fee, won the case, and submitted the documents to the enforcement department. But I still haven't received the money, even though there's a court decision. As far as I know, there's a queue of several people at the enforcement department trying to recover debts from him, and he has no assets.

Over time, the debt grew to $13,000 because I kept lending him money, even though he wasn't returning it. I know it sounds strange, but for some reason, it seemed to me that if I didn't help him now, he wouldn't return anything at all.

In 2024, he wrote me a second promissory note — for $13,000 this time — and committed to paying at least $300 per month. But since then, I haven't received a single penny. Meanwhile, when we met, he had an expensive Samsung. I looked at it and thought: he finds money for a phone, but for some reason, he can't return even a small part of the debt to me.

Павялічыць

Now, for me, it's not just about the money anymore — I want some justice, for the person to answer for his actions. Even if in the end, nothing can be recovered, I will at least know that I did everything possible. Yes, he is my cousin, we communicated well since childhood, but after everything that has happened, I see no reason to show him any special loyalty just because we are relatives. I hardly speak to that part of the family now.

“He Was a Successful Young Man”

Alexander's ex-wife also contacted the editorial office with a similar story. According to her, she learned about her husband's large debts completely unexpectedly — and was shocked, as she had always considered him a successful person with a good job. As a result, the couple divorced and entered into a marriage contract, under which the man was supposed to return part of their shared savings to her. But he was never able to settle with her completely.

— When Alexander and I met, I was 19 years old, I had just finished college and started working at one of the Belarusian banks. That's where we met; he was in sales at the time. He was cheerful, sociable, charismatic, almost immediately started flirting, courting, inviting me on dates, and everything between us somehow took off very quickly.

His career was going well at work; he quickly climbed the corporate ladder, and at that point, I knew nothing about any debts. True, he played online poker, sometimes went to play live, but I was very young then and perceived it as a normal hobby. He loved sports, watched football, hockey, biathlon, was keen on snooker. In short, he didn't seem at all like someone the whole of Minsk would later be looking for.

The first time he asked me for money was in the summer of 2017 — I think it was $300 or $500. He said his manager didn't have enough for a vacation and needed to borrow a little. We were already a family then, planning to buy a home and saving money, and all the savings were in my account. Of course, it surprised me that the head of one of the country's largest banks would ask such a small amount from his deputy, but I believed him and transferred the money.

A few months later, the girl was unexpectedly invited for an interview with the bank's security service, with the explanation that it was for a promotion. However, instead of work-related questions, the employees began asking her about her husband, their acquaintance, and their relationship. At the time, the girl did not yet suspect that such interest was related to his financial problems.

— Approximately a month after that conversation, Alexander called me, almost crying, and said: “Don't leave me, I'm sorry, but if I don't return $9,000 by tomorrow, I'll be fired.”

I was in shock, I burst into tears and started asking what had happened. It turned out he had borrowed this amount from one of the bank's employees, who had taken out a loan for this purpose. Initially, Alexander helped pay it off, then stopped, and eventually, the person contacted the security service.

We were just about to start building a home, and I realized that all our plans were falling apart. But I still gave him those $9,000 from our shared savings because I wanted to give him a chance to fix things. He assured me that all debts were now settled and there would be no more problems, although he was still fired from that job.

Павялічыць

“I Noticed He Was Hiding His Phone, And Once He Came Home Without His Expensive Watch”

— After being fired, he found another job, but I couldn't calm down because I kept noticing oddities. For example, he started putting his phone on silent mode and placing it face down, and once he came home without the Tissot watch I had once given him. He said he'd forgotten it at work, but I immediately thought he might have pawned it somewhere.

At the same time, he always knew how to speak very convincingly. By profession, he's a good salesman, a true master of words, who, I think, could convince anyone.

One night, I decided to look at his phone for the first time and almost immediately saw a message demanding a very large sum be returned by the next day, otherwise, he would face serious consequences. I don't remember the exact amount anymore, but that's when I finally understood that nothing was over.

Soon after, he was unemployed again — I don't know if he quit or was fired — and left for Azerbaijan. He said he wanted to earn money and pay off his debts. We agreed to live separately so I could think about whether I was ready to continue the marriage at all. But literally two or three months later, new debts surfaced, and I filed for divorce without hesitation.

“He Said He Had Enough Debts Without Me, So I Was Last in Line”

— Before the divorce, we entered into a marriage contract to regulate financial matters. It was important for me to get my money back, and we agreed that he would pay a certain portion of the sum within a set timeframe. For a while, he did indeed pay back little by little, but then he stopped. We continued to talk; he would get in touch, constantly promising things, but there was no money. He acknowledged the debt itself, only saying that he had enough creditors without me and I was last in line.

As a result, I went to court and obtained a writ of execution, but even that changed nothing. Eventually, the deadline for presenting the enforcement document expired, and I still hadn't received the money. I simply had no strength left to constantly call, travel, and try to achieve something, so at some point, I decided to let this situation go.

Now I no longer want to pursue anything from him. Compared to other people, the amount of my debt is relatively small, and I have mentally said goodbye to it. I'm just tired of fighting and realized that I no longer want to spend my life on this story.

“I Was at Rock Bottom and Am Only Now Starting to Climb Out.” Alexander’s Version

Journalists also contacted Alexander himself to learn his version of what happened. The man did not deny owing money to his cousin and ex-wife, and he explained how he accumulated such large debts, how much he has already managed to repay, and when he plans to settle with the rest.

— Several people have contacted us, claiming they lent you money and have been unable to get it back for a long time. How did this situation arise in the first place?

— At some point, I had an enormous number of debts — more than several hundred thousand dollars — and indeed many people I owed money to. Over the past six or seven years, I've been gradually returning this money, and now I've almost completely closed out my debts.

It all started with a not-so-successful investment, on which I staked almost everything I had, and as a result, I got into debt. At that time, I accumulated about $50,000–$70,000 in debt, and with my income at the time, it was simply an insurmountable amount.

To somehow get out of it, I constantly had to re-borrow money, and at huge interest rates, sometimes up to 10% per month. It became a kind of pyramid, where I took on new debts to pay off old ones, and my income barely covered the interest payments. For example, if you owe $20,000 at 10% per month, you have to pay $2,000 just in interest.

It was only about two years ago that I completely got rid of interest-bearing debts. Now I'm gradually settling with the rest.

— How much money have you already returned, and how much do you still owe?

— Over all this time, I've returned approximately $150,000, and in the last year alone, I've paid back over $20,000. Currently, I owe a total of about $40,000. There are a few small debts, a few thousand dollars each, and four larger ones. In total, there are about ten creditors now. I try to close out the smaller debts first to reduce the number of people I owe, and then tackle the large ones. I haven't taken on new debts for about a year and a half to two years; there's no such necessity now.

— And when do you plan to finally settle with everyone?

— It's hard to say, as my income is quite unstable right now. I work as a freelancer, pursuing my own projects, and I have the opportunity to earn a large sum in a short time. Hypothetically, a project could "take off," and I'd earn enough in a month to cover most of my debts.

Or it could be that I continue to earn a few hundred dollars above my expenses, and then the repayment will stretch out for several more years. Currently, I earn enough to pay for housing, support myself, help my mother, and gradually pay back debts. I don't have any assets that I could sell to immediately settle with everyone. I'm, so to speak, left with nothing.

— Your cousin claims you owe him $13,000 and haven't returned anything all this time. Why?

— Yes, indeed, I borrowed money from my cousin interest-free and haven't returned anything to him yet. I admit this, but I'm trying to negotiate with him, meet, explain the situation, and he, it seems to me, doesn't want to listen. He needs the money immediately, and he's not agreeable to small payments.

I can pay him $100–$200 a month, but for him, these are insignificant amounts because he wants to resolve the issue quickly. And right now, I simply don't have the ability to just take out and pay back $13,000 immediately. After essential expenses, I have up to $500 a month left, which I distribute among my creditors.

— But you yourself admit that you haven't returned a single dollar to him in several years. Why should he believe your latest promises?

— I had an unfortunate character trait: I would tell people what I hoped for, having some probability for it, without being certain. Often, what I promised, I didn't deliver, that's a fact. And, accordingly, because of this, the impression was created that it all looked as if I was just "feeding people excuses." But I genuinely hoped it would work out; these opportunities just didn't materialize.

— Your brother said he plans to contact the police along with other creditors. Are you aware of this?

— Yes, he told me about it. But I believe I didn't do anything illegal; I just borrowed money and couldn't return it on time. I'm not hiding from anyone, I work, I return debts, and many people I've already settled with can confirm this. Therefore, I view discussions about a collective statement to the police more as an attempt to pressure me.

— Another one of our interlocutors — your ex-wife — said that you took money from family savings, and after the divorce, you failed to fulfill the obligations of the marriage contract. How was it from your perspective?

— With her, it was a completely different situation. We got married in 2015, and in 2018, I started having serious financial problems, which I initially hid from her. When everything became known, the relationship, of course, deteriorated.

During that period, I earned well, and we had joint savings — approximately $10,000. When the debts appeared, I took this money from the joint account and directed it towards paying off debts. At the same time, the main joint savings were formed from my earnings.

— And how did you end up divorcing, and what amount did you agree on?

— In September 2018, I went to work in Azerbaijan, having received a good offer there. My wife did not go with me. Approximately two months later, I returned to Minsk to renew my passport, and we met. At that time, she said she wanted to divorce and proposed entering into a marriage contract, under which I was supposed to return part of our savings to her — about $5,000.

Павялічыць

I agreed because I thought it would be the humane thing to do. Additionally, she kept our car, and under the marriage contract, I committed to paying her approximately another $3,000 within a year.

Then I learned that she was planning to remarry. I also received information that at the time of our discussion about divorce, she was already pregnant with another man's child. I perceived this as deceit and now believe I could have refused these payments altogether. But at that time, I met her halfway, left her the car, and signed the marriage contract.

— Did you pay her anything after the divorce?

— Yes, for a while, I transferred $100–$200 — probably a total of $500 to $1,000. Then, in 2020, my father passed away, my mother was left alone, the financial situation became even more difficult, and I stopped paying. Later, she started demanding money again, but at that time I had an enormous number of interest-bearing debts, so I didn't prioritize her demands. I understood that I first had to settle with those to whom I was paying large interest, and only then return to other obligations.

Now I directly state that I won't pay my ex-wife anything until I close out all other debts. If it weren't for the marriage contract and the writ of execution, I wouldn't consider myself obligated to return anything to her at all. At the same time, I don't deny that a marriage contract exists and I have obligations under it. But personally, I believe I never borrowed money from her; it was specifically about our shared savings.

You can't imagine how difficult it is to live when, for six or seven years, different people call you every day, sometimes several times, asking when you'll return the money. I've been under such stress for many years. Recently, I've managed to deal with my psychological state, understand how to work and earn money going forward. The last two years, a lot has changed for the better in this regard.

I'm not saying I've fully escaped this situation yet. You're talking to a person who was at rock bottom and has now pushed off from it, but hasn't even surfaced yet. Nevertheless, I continue to work and return money. No matter how long it takes, I intend to settle with everyone.

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