(/Kavkaz.Realii)
The Chechen Prosecutor’s Office has successfully applied in court for gas debts worth a reported ₽9 billion ($136 million) owed by the local population to Gazprom, to be written off. The ruling has led politicians from other regions of Russia to call for similar debt write-offs.
(kbrria.ru)
Russia’s Minister of North Caucasus Affairs has accused the subjects of the North Caucasus Federal District of stealing gas and electricity and chronic non-payment. But many locals say the utility bills are beyond what they can pay.
Head of Kabardino-Balkaria Yury Kokov and Gazprom representative Viktor Zubkov in Nalchik in 2017 (/gazprom.ru)
The Russian Government has ‘recommended’ that regional leaders in the North Caucasian Federal District ensure repayment of overdue debts for energy supplied by Gazprom and Rosseti and their subsidiaries. [Read more…]
Mamuka Bakhtadze (/OC Media)
Tato Khundadze is editor at European.ge.
Just two months after announcing sweeping reforms of Georgia’s banks, 36-year-old Finance Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze looks set to become the new Prime Minister. While the country’s banks have become among the most profitable in the world, they have done so at the expense of ordinary Georgians. If Bakhtadze and his replacement at the finance ministry follow through on these reforms, they could be the first step in addressing some of Georgia’s most pressing economic woes.
A pawnshop in Tbilisi (Sulkhan Bordzikashvili/OC Media)
On 1 March, Georgian police conducted a mass inspection of Tbilisi’s pawnshops, which resulted in the confiscation of mobile phones, TV sets, and other electronic equipment. According to an official statement from the Interior Ministry, the confiscated items had been accepted by the pawnshops without the necessary documentation.
Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Grozny (grozny-inform.ru)
Chechnya’s gas providers have intensified their efforts to collect debts from people who persistently avoid paying for municipal services. During inspections, new cases of illegal use of gas were found.
