Russian Prosecutors Find Privatization Law Violations in Bashkir Soda Industry

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th August, 2020) The Russian Prosecutor General's Office found violations pertaining to the alienation of state shares in the soda production industry in Bashkiria during a private-public merger that resulted in the establishment of the Bashkir Soda Company (BSC), spokesman Andrey Ivanov said on Friday.

Earlier this month, BSC found itself in the midst of a scandal after initiating a mining project near the Kushtau shihan a hill of special cultural significance for the people of Russia's central Bashkir Republic that ignited strong public protests. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered for an inquiry into the erosion of state shares within the company from the initial 62 percent to 38 percent, saying that the privatization altered the company's priorities.

"As ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Prosecutor General's Office has inquired about the lawfulness of the alienation of state shares in soda producing companies in the Republic of Bashkortostan.

The inquiry found violations of the privatization law. The transfer of rights to the named properties was made against the Russian Federation's will," Ivanov said.

The spokesman said the case had been passed for further review to the Russian Investigative Committee and the Bashkir Court of Arbitration.

BSC was established in 2013 via a merger of a public joint-stock company, where the Bashkir government owned 61.65 percent of shares, with another one, where a Cypriot-owned private company owned the majority of shares. As of August, the Bashkir state BSC shares accounted for 38.28 percent, while the private shareholder accounted for the 57.18 percent.