11 January 1999
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Former Communist Party Secretary Accused Of Murder
The Prosecutor's Office in Tatarstan has filed murder charges against Mars Rameev, the former first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Kazan urban committee. Rameev, also the former director of the Tatlesprom Association, is alleged to have ordered the murder of Tatlesprom chief accountant Fayaz Minzakhmetov, which occurred on 12 January 1994. The Tatlesprom association was involved in the first deliveries of petroleum exported independently by Tatarstan. Rameev is also accused of plundering 800,000 rubles worth of state property. Rameev was arrested in January 1997. If he is found guilty, he would face a jail sentence of eight to 15 years, Tatar radio reported.
Treasury Created To Send Wages Directly To State Workers
A state treasury has been created in Tatarstan in order to control budgetary outflows, Tatar state media reported. The Treasury will directly deposit wages for state employees to their bank accounts instead of transferring them to the accounts of local administrations, as was the previous practice. The new measure will limit the authority of the republic's district administrative heads, and many are resisting the change because it gives them less control over their budgets. A republic-wide investigation showed that almost all district leaders had made violations in the disbursement of monies received from the republican budget. Transfers sent to pay salaries were often used by local authorities for other purposes. The Treasury's staff will include 160 people and will be staffed by employees from the Finance Ministry. The Tatar government will not open a branch of the Russian Treasury in Kazan because it does not receive money from the Russian budget -- not one ruble is allocated to Tatarstan in the 1999 Russian budget.
Guilty Verdict Declared For Pyramid Scheme Organizer
The Vakhitov district court in Kazan rendered a guilty verdict on 6 January to the head of a financial pyramid that betrayed more than 600 investors. The court sentenced Albert Ishkuvatov, one of the founders of the investment fund Region, to two years imprisonment. He served three-quarters of that sentence while his case was under investigation. The court also declared that Ishkuvatov must compensate investors with more than 4 million rubles. Ishkuvatov will appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court of Tatarstan, Tatar radio and television reported.
Tatnefteprom Creates Branch To Manufacture Oil Products
The Tatneftepromsuzeevneft joint-stock company has been formed in the Nurlat district to produce oil products, Tatarstan television reported. The decision was approved at a general meeting of shareholders in the joint- stock company Tatnefteprom. An installation will be built on the base of the Suzeev oilfield to produce black oil, bitumen, and other oil products. All shares in the new enterprise belong to Tatnefteprom. The creation of the new company is expected to provide jobs and development in both the Nurlat region and in neighboring Ulyanovsk oblast.
Compiled by G. Khasanova