Since 2012 there is also a specialised unit within the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus, the High Tech Crime and Intellectual Property Department; its function is to initiate criminal proceedings and conduct full investigations of detected criminal activities. It now employs about 30 officers dedicated to cybercrime and high-tech investigations, out of which 10 are located at the headquarters.
The roles are devided between police officers and officers of the Investigative Committee as follows: officers of Department “K” of the Ministry of Interior collect information on circumstances that are evidence of cybercrime, register illegal activities and, if there is sufficient data for opening a criminal case, hand over the material collected to the Investigative Committee. Investigators of the Committee make a decision on opening a criminal case and proceed with the investigation. Throughout the investigation, Department “K” and the Investigative Committee cooperate with each other. When the investigation is complete, the criminal case is transmitted to the supervising prosecution office for further hearings in court.