S. Stepashin has proposed making an offshore zone in Chechnya

The Chairman of the Accounts Chamber of the RF Sergey Stepashin claimed on April 18 in Grozny that Chechnya needs particular, ?breaking? decisions, for example, making a special economic zone.

?It is the area that is not equal to the others. It is particular in respect to the economy and real situation, and it requires special approach?, the head of the Accounts Chamber said.

S. Stepashin issued this statement after he had reported that breaches of financial discipline to the sum of 366,8 million rubles had been revealed in the Chechen Republic. And at the same time Stepashin clearly underlined that it was not ?stolen money?, though stolen money existed too. According to the data collected by the inspectors, they found 21 million rubles that had been stolen, and criminal cases will be opened in connection with these facts.

According to the Deputy of the General Public Prosecutor of Russia in the South Federal District Sergey Fridinsky, since the beginning of the current year the General Office of Public Prosecutor has launched more that a hundred of criminal investigations in connection with facts of embezzlement of public funds in the Chechen Republic to the sum of about 200 million rubles.

However, in opinion of some Chechen officials, the republic is able to manage evenly without the assistance of the Federal Center. It was repeatedly announced by the Deputy Head of the Chechnya Administration Usman Masaev. According to his words, ?if the actual value of petroleum being extracted in Chechnya is calculated, it turns out that the result greatly exceeds the sum the federal budget allots for the republic?.