Belarus opens unprecedented special economic zone in Orsha District, approves Relex Development as first and only cryptocurrency company permitted to date Relex News Follow Jan 21, 2019 · 3 min read

CEO Keith Hilden, Eurasia Marketing Officer Artem Dorokhov, and Relex Belarus President Oksana Lozytskaya display the company’s official approvals in the Executive Committee office in the Orsha District, Belarus. The official flag of the Orsha district is proudly displayed on the wall.

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko signed an unparalleled decree on Jan. 3, establishing a special economic zone in the Orsha District meant to propel economic development and serve as the economic model for other regions.

The new special economic zone has approved only one blockchain company to benefit from the structure of this new SEZ: Relex Belarus.

Decree №506, which established the special economic zone in the Orsha District of Belarus, created a district development program that will operate until Dec. 31, 2023. The SEZ provides tax breaks, reduction for deductions for pension insurance, a moratorium on spot checks, and the establishment of European Union, Eurasian Economic Union, and People’s Republic of China building standards in the redevelopment of the zone.

“Its goal is to create conditions for the integrated socio-economic development of the region, improving the quality and standard of living of the population, stimulating entrepreneurship, and increasing the incomes of the local budget,” according to a translated press release from the Belarusian government.

Relex Belarus is the one and only cryptocurrency company that has been approved to operate in this region. Relex is a blockchain-based investment company that seeks to provide additional transparency to developer sage of funds, make possible global funding of projects, and make crowdfunding a simple process across the globe. Its recent approval in Belarus will allow Relex to practice these goals, whereas red tape in other countries had the company at loggerheads.

One of the main goals of Decree 506 is to facilitate investments into the region. According to the official statement, “The program provides measures for the development of investment activities.”

The decree came on heels of an August visit to the Orsha region when President Lukashenko was enraged by the dilapidation he saw, in direct contravention to order he had mandated months before. His first move was to remove the country’s Industry Minister Vitaly Vovk, as well as Architecture and Construction Minister Anatoly Cherny.

“We will no longer have to listen to their explanations of how difficult and complicated their [the government’s] work is,” Lukashenko said in a televised statement.

During his August trip to Orsha, the Belarusian president saw government buildings in disrepair. A roof of a governmental building that he had previously ordered fixed was still in shambles, prompting his decisive action.

The creation of the special economic zone echoes other SEZs established around the world, such as China’s Shenzhen region and the UAE’s Abu Dhabi.

The streamlining, reduction of restrictions, and incentive programs in the Orsha district under Decree №506 will jumpstart development and construction in the region, an area that Relex Belarus, as the only blockchain solution in the region, will step in to facilitate.

Relex Belarus President Oksana Lozytskaya works directly with government officials in Belarus to implement the new digital economy. She has over 20 years of experience in real estate and construction.