US lifts sanctions on Belarusian arms exporter

The United States has lifted its two-year sanctions against Belarusian arms exporter Beltechexport, the company said Monday. "Immediately after the sanctions were imposed, the administration and shareholders of the company began active actions and invited international audit experts in order to protect the company's reputation," Beltechexport said in a statement. One of the companies involved was the U.S. audit firm KPMG, which was granted access to all Beltechexport documentation dating back to 2000 and later confirmed the legality of the company's commercial activities, the statement said. The United States imposed sanctions on Beltechexport in May 2011 for alleged violation of an arms embargo on Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Syria. The sanctions prohibited U.S. governmental agencies from doing business with the company.