Putin says economic crime frightening foreign investors

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2006

MOSCOW (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin called for tough action against economic crime, saying graft was frightening off foreign investors, and issued a veiled warning to foreign governments not to "blackmail" Russia over its legal crackdowns. "Legal guarantees of fair competition, defense of property rights, and free enterprise are becoming increasingly important as the economy grows," Putin said, adding that "illegal business practices are becoming increasingly aggressive: fictitious bankruptcies and the takeover of businesses." Addressing the heads of Russia's law enforcement agencies, he added: "These criminal acts, which are largely new to us, are doing serious harm to the legal economy.

They are undermining faith in us by both domestic and foreign investors."...