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Russia's chief auditor rules out "mandatory" revision of privatization
Interfax

Moscow, 17 April: Summing up the results of a round table on privatization problems in Russia this evening, the head of the Russian Audit Chamber, Sergey Stepashin, said there would be no large-scale revision of its [privatization's] results.

"There is no mandatory requirement for the results of privatization to be reviewed," Stepashin said, stressing that this was the position of the country's leadership.

"But as for individual facilities, specific enterprises, where there were gross violations in the process of privatization, and if there are records of them in the Prosecutor-General's Office, we may go back to those issues, so that there are no longer surprises like the ones in relation to the Apatit joint-stock company or the Yukos oil company," the head of the Audit Chamber said.

"At the round table, we discussed whether we are on the right track. Undoubtedly, all the i's should be dotted and t's crossed as regards privatization, irrespective of whether it was a good or a bad thing to happen," he said.

The shortfall of funds for the national budget from privatization was huge, Stepashin said. "But this does not mean that the assets should now be in some way confiscated," he added.

Stepashin went on to say that many of those involved in privatization, businessmen, have changed. "In the main, they work honestly and pay their taxes," he said.

At the same time, Stepashin said, it is obvious that Russia's national wealth was seriously undervalued, and some thought should be given to how to engage it in the national budget or investment projects.

"This is what we'll now be looking at with the government," Stepashin said.

On the subject of irregularities that occurred during privatization, the head of the Audit Chamber said: "An assessment will be made as regards some facilities, but no-one is going to take those assets back," he said.

As for foreign investment in Russia, the Audit Chamber wants "to look into what is now stopping foreign investors from getting involved in the Russian economy", Stepashin said.

In his comments on the criminal case of Mikhail Khodorkovskiy, the former head of the Yukos oil company, Stepashin said: "If a man has stolen money, this should not be confused with politics. Let the courts decide and prove his guilt."

"It is another matter that now Yukos is working transparently enough, not the way it was two to four years ago. It has indeed tackled many issues. Our counterparts in Britain and the USA agree with this," he said.

"This is why we should dot the i's and cross the t's on the privatization issue by the end of this year. This is both an economic and political decision," Stepashin emphasized.

Source: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1602 gmt 17 Apr 04