Chechen authorities close plenty of retail outlets

Shops, kiosks and cafes are closed in Chechnya as a result of the checks conducted by a special inter-ministry commission. In order to obtain a permit to resume the work, huge bribes are requested, some local businessmen assert.

On March 19-20, the above commission, which included officials from the "Rospotrebsoyuz", veterinary service and the "Rosstandart", conducted raids in Grozny to check outlets and other facilities of the private business for compliance with trade regulations and relevant legislation.

"Because of revealed violations, in Grozny only we had to temporarily suspend the work of over a hundred outlets. Most violations had to do with absence of proper documents with private entrepreneurs and violations of trade regulations, in particular, sale of goods with expired shelf life and sale of non-certified products," a source from the "Rospotrebsoyuz" of Chechnya told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

However, private entrepreneurs themselves argue that the actions of the commission members were often biased; and that now they suffer serious losses.

"Under the pretext that my documents had some shortcomings, they closed my shop. We don't work for two weeks already; and we bear huge losses, because we have to pay our monthly rental fees for the premises," said Khizir T., a private entrepreneur, working in Grozny.

According to another owner of a shop in the Chechen capital – Lida S., "it's possible to settle the problem rather promptly if you pay a certain sum to someone in charge. But I know that if you pay a bribe once, then you'll have to do it all the time. Therefore, I'm trying to solve at the problems within the framework of the law," she said.

So far, the "Caucasian Knot" has no comment of the commission members and of the republic's authorities on entrepreneurs' complaints about briberies.