Ladies and Gentlemen,
On 12 December 2025, I published an article entitled “Lukashenko’s Intelligence Operative in Poland”
In it, I described, among other things, the connections between Witold Karczewski and the closest special-task associates of Alexander Lukashenko, including Alexander Zingman and Viktor Sheiman.
As can be
seen in the attached photograph, the content of my article was very displeasing to “unknown perpetrators”.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I truly had and still have nothing against the sale of Belarusian and Russian weapons to Africa but for God’s sake, not for USD 100 million of Polish taxpayers’ money!
And that is exactly what was supposed to happen in 2016. Not only did I prevent the contract from being signed at the Ministry, but I also had enough courage (or foolishness?) to file an official notification, as a result of which the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Białystok initiated and continues to conduct proceedings under file reference RP I Ds. 50.2016, in which charges were brought against Witold Karczewski.
Witold can do anything in Białystok.
Unfortunately, this is true, and his influence extends far beyond Białystok. The proceedings of the Białystok prosecutor’s office were swept under the proverbial carpet for many years, because the Białystok prosecutor’s office requested legal assistance from Kenya, asking Kenyan officials whether Witold Karczewski might have attempted to bribe them… As you can probably guess, legal assistance from Kenya never arrived. Well… Białystok.
At the same time, various Białystok institutions initiated all possible inspections of entities connected with me all of which came to nothing.
OKO.press written in Cyrillic.
It appears that the “Białystok arrangement” eventually found an idea in the person of Małgorzata Tomczak, who shortly after my publication wrote a vile, mendacious article. Of course, she will soon receive a lawsuit, but as is well known, cases concerning personal rights last for years, while the effect of the article was meant to be immediate, a pretext for my immediate temporary arrest.
Naturally, the content of the article was immediately quoted by media writing in Cyrillic (attached). Why? The answer is exceptionally banal.
The Order of Missionaries (all of whom reside legally in Poland) carries out activities thanks to which they not only support themselves financially without burdening the Polish taxpayer, but also support Polish entrepreneurs and the Polish economy. Additionally, the Order I manage pays several million złoty in taxes to the State Treasury every year. Why does this bother the “Białystok arrangement,” which spoke through the article by Małgorzata Tomczak?
Because this group has long been lobbying for allowing so-called “refugees” through the Belarusian border. What does it matter that they will burden the Polish taxpayer, since enormous sums will be earned by the so-called “wallet people” of Alexander Lukashenko?
Małgorzata Tomczak’s motivation is exceptionally simple as always, money. And since the migration pact will soon come into force, I am not surprised at all that Deputy Prime Minister Radosław Sikorski so eagerly distributed in his social media an article as mendacious as many matters connected with the Deputy Prime Minister.
The African Wizard, or the Bulgarian Connector
Let us return to the topic of Witold Karczewski’s connections with the closest circle of Alexander Lukashenko, including individuals trading in Russian and Belarusian weapons (let us assume tractors).
But step by step:
The dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s right-hand man, Viktor Sheiman, according to Belarusian media, was involved in the creation of “death squads” that kidnapped and murdered Lukashenko’s political opponents in the late 1990s. Since 2010, he has overseen the African direction. At that time, he held the position of Assistant to the President of Belarus for Special Assignments. In 2010, 2011, and 2012 he traveled to Côte d’Ivoire, and between 2010 and 2013 he visited Ghana annually, developing numerous projects in Congo, Sudan, and Mozambique.
In 2013, Viktor Sheiman was appointed Head of the Presidential Affairs Directorate of Belarus and continued to supervise the African direction.
Sergey Sheiman, Viktor Sheiman’s son, and businessman Alexander Zingman were beneficiaries of gold-mining businesses in Zimbabwe.
Relations between Zimbabwe and Belarus became active only after Emmerson Mnangagwa came to power in Zimbabwe. In 2015 he visited Belarus as vice president. In 2019, Mnangagwa visited Minsk as President of Zimbabwe. In January 2023, Lukashenko visited Zimbabwe.
In 2019, Belarusian exports to Zimbabwe amounted to only USD 250,000. A year later USD 16.4 million. During Lukashenko’s visit to Harare, it was said that Zimbabwe would purchase “agricultural equipment” from Belarus for USD 66 million.
In December 2017, Sergey Sheiman and Alexander Zingman registered the legal entity Midlands Goldfields Foundation in the Seychelles. The Seychellois entity owned a British company of the analogous name Midlands Goldfields Limited.
In 2018, Viktor Sheiman visited Zimbabwe twice to conclude trade agreements.
In April 2018, Midlands Goldfields Limited established a joint venture for gold mining Zim Goldfields Pvt Ltd in which, through several intermediary companies, Sergey Sheiman and Alexander Zingman obtained 70%, while 30% remained with the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation.
In May 2018, Zim Goldfields Pvt Ltd received a grant for gold exploration and extraction. The company continued operations in Zimbabwe in 2021.
In 2021, when sending Sheiman into retirement, Lukashenko asked him to continue dealing with Africa, Cuba, and Venezuela, appointing him Special Envoy of the President of Belarus to Africa.
Zimbabwean media variously refer to Alexander Zingman as an “advisor” to the Head of the Presidential Affairs Directorate Viktor Sheiman, or as a well-known Belarusian businessman. According to African media reports, Zingman was involved in arms transactions with Zambia and Zimbabwe and organized deals for Rosoboronexport (Russia), including aircraft purchases.
Alexander Zingman is the main beneficiary of Aftrade DMCC, a company registered in the UAE. According to its website, it supplies “Belarusian equipment” (MAZ, MTZ, BELAZ, Gomselmash, MZKT) to Africa, particularly tractors to Kenya. Media reported plans by the Kenyan government to purchase not only tractors but also forage harvesters and special equipment from Belarus.Zingman frequently appears in photographs from visits of African delegations to Belarus and Belarusian delegations to Africa. For example, he was present during negotiations between Alexander Lukashenko and the President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, during the latter’s visit to Belarus.
Zingman also accompanied the Zimbabwean Ministry of Health delegation during a visit to Belarus. Together with Viktor Sheiman, he attended official meetings in Zimbabwe and Zambia, as well as a meeting between the Belarusian foreign minister and the President of Kenya in Nairobi. Zingman maintains informal contacts with the “top” leadership of various countries. For example, his informal photograph with the President of Zambia holding wine glasses sparked criticism in local media and allegations of possible corrupt transactions. In January 2019, Zingman was appointed Honorary Consul of Zimbabwe in Minsk. His office is located in the “President Hotel,” which belongs to the Presidential Affairs Directorate. The Aftrade DMCC representative office is also located there.
In 2021, following a meeting with former president Joseph Kabila, Zingman and his partners were detained in Congo on suspicion of arms trafficking and preparing a coup. They spent little time in custody. After release, the businessman denied involvement in arms supplies.
In 2023, Lukashenko visited Zimbabwe, where contracts were signed for the delivery of approximately 4,000 units of equipment: tractors, agricultural, forestry, and other machinery.
In January 2025, Viktor Sheiman met with Lukashenko and reported on “increasing Belarusian presence” in Africa, including joint ventures, deliveries of machinery and food products, construction of roads and railways, and training of specialists to operate Belarusian “special equipment.”
On 30 October 2025, Viktor Sheiman and Alexander Zingman were present at a meeting with Alexander Lukashenko devoted to the development of cooperation with Africa.
Belarus and Angola have long-standing partnership relations in the military sphere. As early as 1993, Belarus sold the first batch of weapons to Angola via a Bulgarian company. Sales
continued throughout the Angolan civil war (until 2002), involving old tanks, aircraft, and artillery.
In 2019, Angolan media reported interest in purchasing Belarusian weapons worth EUR 175 million. At various times, Belarus actively sold weapons to Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Somalia, and other countries.
In 2018, Belarus closed its embassy in Ethiopia and opened one in Kenya. In December of that year, Lukashenko paid a brief visit to Nairobi and met with President William Ruto, proposing the creation of a roadmap for cooperation.
Political and economic cooperation between Belarus and Kenya has indeed intensified in the past year, including meetings at the level of foreign ministers and business forums.
According to The Weekly Review, in 2023 the Kenyan government intended to purchase tractors, forage harvesters, dump trucks, and other “special equipment” from Belarus for 31 billion Kenyan shillings (approximately USD 240 million). Notably, the purchase was to be distributed among several state organizations.
The “special equipment” was to be supplied by Kenya’s state credit institution the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC), which itself faces serious financial difficulties. The entire transaction raised numerous questions among journalists.
Journalists from The Weekly Review attempted to clarify where the Kenyan government intended to obtain such a large sum. They reviewed key transaction documents, including
a Kenyan cabinet memo and a memorandum of understanding between AFC and the dealer
of Belarusian “special equipment” in Africa Aftrade DMCC, founded in 2017, one of whose
co-owners is Alexander Zingman.
In a letter dated 27 February, the AFC executive director asked the Kenyan Attorney General for assistance in drafting an intergovernmental agreement between Kenya and Belarus, assuming the multibillion-project would be financed via a preferential Belarusian loan.
Another source of financing was found in a cabinet document titled “National Agricultural Mechanization Program to be implemented by AFC,” stating that the purchase would be financed through a loan from the Trade Development Bank (TDB) for seven years at an interest rate not exceeding 2–3% annually.
A repeat of the 2016 attempt to sell “agricultural equipment” using USD 100 million from a Polish government loan via Witold Karczewski’s company?
Journalists requested explanations from TDB management but were dismissed.
Incidentally, Aftrade DMCC itself demanded a “modest” dealer commission USD 5 million.
Another Associate of Witold Karczewski. In 2011, Viktor Sheiman, as part of a government delegation from Minsk, flew on luxury VIP jets to Ghana (10 May) and Mali (14–16 May).
The delegations included Polish citizen Witold Karczewski and the following individuals:
- Alexander Romanovsky and Anton Novik — former officers of the Belarusian Presidential Security Service, beneficiaries of the security company GardServis linked to Viktor Sheiman the only company in Belarus authorized to possess firearms. According to Belarusian media, GardServis is involved in training migrants for assaults on the Polish border, arms sales in Africa, and protecting gold mines in Zimbabwe. Romanovsky additionally manages security services at gold mining sites in Zimbabwe.
- Sergey Onoshko — responsible within Sheiman’s team for handling the Lukashenko regime’s financial interests while circumventing EU sanctions.
The link between the “Białystok arrangement” and the defamatory, false article by Małgorzata Tomczak is evident. It concerns profits made by Lukashenko’s people from Poland accepting so-called “Belarusian refugees” at the Polish taxpayer’s expense. This is why my activities and the Christian Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary that I manage are so inconvenient to them.
As I wrote in my previous article, from 2004 to 2020 (16 years), Witold Karczewski crossed the Belarusian border 883 times an average of 55 crossings per year (more than once a week for 16 years). This confirms continuous, systematic activity on Belarusian territory.
In addition, Witold established two companies in Belarus:
- Foreign Limited Liability Company “MEGACORP,” tax ID registered on 8 August 1995 in Grodno
- Agricultural production and trading company “Kontraktus” LLC, tax ID 701486923 registered on 30 March 2020 in Mogilev.
However, databases of the Social Protection Fund (SPF) and the Unified State Register (USR) lack information about this entity. The USR is maintained by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus. This means that only the leadership of the Ministry of Justice could have decided to exclude this entity from the USR database. This is the first and unique detected case of this kind.
It should be added that Belarus operates a system of scheduled inspections, and various authorities (Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Control Committee, Ministry of Taxes and Duties, etc.) are required to verify legal entities listed in the USR. Such exclusion deprives state bodies of control instruments over the entity.
On the African market, in the same countries as Witold Karczewski, operates Alexander Zaitsev a long-time partner of Alexey Oleksin and Nikolai Vorobey, known as Lukashenko’s “wallets.”
Alexander Zaitsev is a former Council of Ministers employee and former advisor to Viktor Lukashenko (the dictator’s son), as well as Honorary Consul of Zambia in Belarus. He sells Belarusian tractors and other “special equipment” worldwide.
In Africa, through his company Sohra Group, Zaitsev traded BELAZ trucks and other Belarusian equipment. He was also involved in gold mining projects in Sudan and Ghana
through Sohra Mining, a Sohra Group subsidiary, after Lukashenko personally concluded
a major agreement in 2018 with Sudan’s then-dictator Omar al-Bashir.
In 2004, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visited Minsk, stating that his country was rich in resources and needed modern technologies. Lukashenko visited Sudan in 2017. In 2018,
al-Bashir again flew to Minsk. In 2019, he was overthrown in a military coup and arrested.
After 2020, Zaitsev and his companies were sanctioned by all EU countries and the United States. He is currently under sanctions by Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Ukraine, and New Zealand.
The above facts and Witold Karczewski’s acquaintance with Alexander Zingman, as well as conducting similar business in Africa, may indicate deep-rooted corrupt and business ties between Karczewski and the Lukashenko regime, his role in “gray” schemes of exporting “agricultural machinery” in reality weapons and technologies to Africa, potential facilitation of sanctions evasion or lobbying Belarusian interests in the EU, raising serious suspicions of conflicts of interest, corruption, and possible cooperation with foreign intelligence services.
Szymon Hołownia Anointed Karczewski as Speaker of the Sejm
On 28 March 2025, Poland’s second most important official, the Speaker of the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia, during a meeting in Białystok, sat at the presidium table next to Witold Karczewski. This would not be extraordinary had Hołownia not said to Karczewski the following words, which astonished not only me: “The coalition will make a huge mistake if it replaces me with Czarzasty it should replace me with you.”
After the incident, Hołownia claimed that “the services did not warn him who he was dealing with,” which seems a very weak explanation of how Hołownia and Karczewski behaved during the meeting because this is how people who have known and cooperated with each other for many years behave. As is widely known, Szymon Hołownia founded two foundations operating exclusively in Africa.
Where Are the Polish Services — If Any Exist?
As I stated at the outset: I truly have nothing against the sale of Belarusian and Russian weapons to Africa but for God’s sake, not for USD 100 million of Polish taxpayers’ money!
And the second issue perhaps even more important than what Karczewski is doing with Lukashenko’s people in Africa is this: why has Witold Karczewski, for so many years, been and still remains a behind-the-scenes power broker in Polish ministries and in the country’s most important government and local institutions?
What are Poland’s special services doing?
Are they waiting for an order from Witold Karczewski to arrest me—given that I already have an in-absentia death sentence in Belarus and in Russia?
Maciej Lisowski
Director of the LEX NOSTRA Foundation
