The Belarusian won $30,000 in a casino, hid it from the rain in a shopping bag and lost it. What happened next?
This is almost a fairy tale story about how you can lose everything in an instant, and then suddenly find and maintain faith in goodness. For realism, let’s add some details from the police chronicle.
Fairy Tale of Orsha
It all happened in Orsha – a 55-year-old local resident often went to the casino. Usually, such campaigns ended unsuccessfully, but one day a man won a large amount.
To put everything simply, winnings and personal savings accumulated over several years, equalled $30,000. The Belarusian decided to take this money to his mother for safekeeping. So that the money would not get wet in the rain, the Orsha man hid it in a string bag, and under his arm. When the man got off the minibus, the bag fell out – and no one noticed it.
Old Woman Comes to Rescue
The Belarusian was lucky that an honest woman found a bag of money. A 61-year-old woman was walking to work in a church shop and noticed an inconspicuous bag that was lying around at the bus stop. Having found the money, the pensioner hurried to take it to the police.
“On the same day, police officers applied to the bank to recalculate the amount. As it turned out, the bag contained more than $14,000 and more than $15,000 equivalent in different currencies. The funds were left in the bank,” the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee said.
The Police Enquiry Took Some Time
A week later, the confused man himself turned to the police. He said that he had lost his bag in the city, but he was in no hurry to write a statement: he was ashamed of what had happened. A resident of Orsha told all the details comprehensively: what was the string bag and what banknotes were in it. The police promised that they will return all the money to the owner in the near future.
We need to point out that citizens of Belarus if they find a wallet or a bag with valuables, must inform the owner or the owner of the premises/transport where they found this thing. If this did not work out, you need to go with it to the police. Otherwise, you may be held administratively liable under Art. 10.6 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, and in some cases to criminal liability – under Art. 215 of the Criminal Code, if a property has been appropriated on an especially large scale.
Gambling in Belarus
As we are talking about the case, where the man turned out to be lucky, it is necessary to have insight into the gambling world of Belarus. The country enjoys liberal laws when it comes to playing in online casinos and even though the number of gambling establishments decreased in the past years, still people have numerous ways to entertain themselves.