Putin says Russia must ease grip on businessmen to improve climate

MOSCOW, Feb 20 (PRIME) -- Russia needs to improve its business climate, raise attractiveness of national jurisdiction by removing a constant threat of getting under prosecution for businessmen, President Vladimir Putin said.

“Almost half of the cases today, 45%, initiated against businessmen, are cancelled before they go to court. What does that mean? This means that they were initiated unduly or for a poor reason,” he told the Federal Assembly, both houses of parliament.

“What does that mean in practice? As a result, each businessman whose business is wrecked for this reason is responsible for 130 employees who lose the job. Let us think about the figure, this becomes a grave issue for the economy.”

Putin said that one of the priorities is “improvement of the business climate and the quality of national jurisdiction so that no one flees abroad, to other jurisdictions, to have everything safe and working like a clock.”

He ordered the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Supreme Court to analyze the situations when people suspected of criminal offences remain in jail for months without questioning.

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