Belarusian president Alexsandr Lukashenko on Thursday ordered a ban on price increases to help consumers amid soaring inflation.

Lukashenko lambasted ministers during a government meeting for failing to control prices and warned businesses against trying to alter their prices or even stop offering goods altogether.

“From today, price increases are prohibited,” Lukashenko was quoted as saying by the country’s Belta news agency. “God forbid someone decides to raise prices or do some indexation retroactively,” he added. “Prices are exorbitant today. They hit the ceiling. Prices cannot be raised anywhere. There is no need for that. Yet there may be exceptions.”

Lukashenko did not specify what goods might be exempted. Any attempt to circumvent his decree will result in “immediate detention and criminal proceedings,” according to Belta.

https://www.ft.com/content/c907698c-a286-4685-b4ef-4805d497fb0a#post-6be420b8-a0bd-4ae7-b106-702fb75d0032