In Belarus, a four-room apartment in which three-time Olympic medalist Alexandra Gerasimenya was registered has been sold at auction. This was reported on the website of the state enterprise “BelYurObespechenie.”
The apartment was registered in the name of one of Gerasimenya’s relatives. The athlete herself, her husband, and their daughter were officially registered as living there.
“The apartment is not my property, just like the garage and everything inside the apartment and the garage. This is the apartment of my close relative, and besides me and my husband, our daughter is registered there, so I don’t know how they can take it. But in our country there are no laws,” the athlete told Nasha Niva.
The starting price at the auction, which was attended by 15 people, was 376,800 Belarusian rubles (about $131,000). The bidding continued until 2:00 a.m., and the apartment was ultimately sold for 661,300 rubles (about $230,000).
The apartment was seized after a criminal case was opened against Gerasimenya and Alexander Opeikin for calling for actions against Belarus’ national security (Part 3, Article 361 of the Criminal Code). In the fall of 2020, Gerasimenya moved to Lithuania, where she headed the “Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation” (she later stepped down as head of the foundation), and Opeikin became the foundation’s executive director. In December 2022, she and Opeikin were sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Along with the apartment, money in her bank accounts (more than $48,000), a Land Rover vehicle, her mobile phones, a parking space, a refrigerator, and an audio system were seized. In March 2022, Gerasimenya’s house in Drozdy was also confiscated.
