Nikolai Katselapov, Chief Business Development Officer of World of Tanks studio Wargaming, has apparently been added to the list of "organizations and individuals involved in terrorist activities" (open in new tab) by the Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB, yes, that KGB). In a move that appears to have been prompted by Wargaming's withdrawal from Belarus (open in new tab) after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he has been charged with "financing terrorist activities" under Article 290-1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus.

Katselapov was actually added to the list as far back as December 30, when the independent Belarusian newspaper Nasha Niva (opens in new tab) (via Game World Observer (opens in new tab)) reported the story, which became widely publicized. Nasha Niva believes that Katselapov is still a free man, which makes sense given that Wargaming has not had a presence in Belarus for nearly a year, but so far the company has not commented.

We have also contacted Wargaming for comment on this story and will update this article if we hear back.

Belarus has long used terrorist lists as a political bludgeon. In the past, dissidents like opposition leader and former presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsihanouskaya were added to the list as an excuse to justify repression of groups and individuals hostile to President Alyaksander Lukashenka. Wargaming's decision to pull out of Belarus last April apparently angered the upper echelons of the Belarusian government: it was valued at over $1 billion in 2016. (Opens in new tab)

It is unclear why Belarus specifically singled out Katsrapov, but Nasha Niva theorizes that he may have donated to opposition politicians at some point. In any case, he is now the 993rd entry on the latest edition of the Belarusian terrorist list, making it even less likely that Wargaming will return to its homeland anytime soon.