23 May 2004 06:57
Audit Chamber head calls on Chukotka governor to resign
"I respect Abramovich. He is a good guy, but he should not
hold on to the post of Chukotka governor," Stepashin told
Interfax on Sunday. "Abramovich has a hobby, which is
soccer. Let him continue with it. But it is not a good idea to
MOSCOW. May 23 (Interfax) - Russian Audit Chamber Chairman Sergei Stepashin has called on Roman Abramovich to step
down as governor of the Chukotka autonomous district.
perform experiments on the region and its people," the Audit Chamber head said.
Audit Chamber auditor Sergei Ryabukhin said on May 21 that
the results of the Audit Chamber's check suggested that the
"Looking at the results of [the Audit Chamber's check on Chukotka], I can say that Abramovich has let down
the Russian president badly," he said.
Chukotka autonomous district had effectively gone bankrupt since its debt to the state was more than two times its
own budget revenues. On January 1, 2004, Chukotka owed the state 9.3 billion rubles, including overdue interest
payments. The district's budget revenues stood at 3.9 billion rubles in 2003. Under the Budget Code, a
region's maximum state debt must not exceed its budget revenues. [RU EUROPE EEU EMRG POL ECI] tm aw
[Interfax] |
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