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*** Due Diligence *** Business Intelligence *** Asset Retrieval *** *** Debt Recovery *** Disappearance Response ***  TT Business Intelligence Report Vol. 2, No. 57, 16 October 2003 Business Intelligence, Crime, Corruption and Debt in C&E/SE Europe and the FSU UPCOMING CONFERENCES THE ENERGY EXCHANGE'S "OIL AND GAS TRANSIT AND SUPPLY IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE AND THE BALKANS" This event will take place on 23-24 October 2003 at the Radisson SAS Palais Hotel, Vienna, Austria. For further information, please contact Steve Church, tel: +44 (0)1242 529 090; fax: +44 (0)1242 529 060; email: [email protected]; W: www.theenergyexchange.co.uk PBJ'S "THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY - REFORM OF THE ARMED SERVICES IN NATOMEMBER COUNTRIES" This event will take place on 19 November 2003 at the Best Western Kampa Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic. For further information, please contact Veronika Habrová, tel: +420 246 086 557; fax: +420 246 086 543; email: [email protected]; W: www.pbj.cz/events IPC'S "NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING MEASURES" This event will take place on 25-26 November 2003 at the Radisson SAS Daugava Hotel, Riga, Latvia. For further information, please contact Judith Halliwell, tel: +44 (0)20 8943 4903; fax: +44 (0)20 8977 7150; email: [email protected]; W: www.ipc-conferences.co.uk EUROMONEY'S "CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPEAN ISSUER AND INVESTOR FORUM" This event will take place on 14-15 January 2004 at the Hotel Inter-Continental, Vienna, Austria. For further information, please contact Jane Colwill, tel: +44 (0)20 7779 8968; fax: +44 (0)20 7779 8795; email: [email protected]; W: www.euromoneyconferences.com BELARUS FIRE KILLS 30 IN BELARUS HOSPITAL A fire whipped through a wooden mental hospital in Belarus on Sunday, killing 30 patients, the government said. Officials said the fire was likely set by one of the patients. Emergency workers initially pulled 29 bodies from the wreckage of the nearly century-old building, and one person died later of burns, in the fire in the village of Randilovshchina, some 250 kilometers west of the capital, Minsk, the Emergency Situations Ministry said. Thirty-one patients received minor injuries and were sent to nearby psychiatric hospitals, it said. No staff were killed or injured in the blaze. A total of 62 patients were housed in the hospital. A spokeswoman for President Alexander Lukashenko, Natalya Petkevich, said the fire was set by a patient who was known to be a pyromaniac and had tried to burn down the building on two previous occasions. She said the patient was killed. When the fire broke out, a nurse and orderly who were on duty were asleep in a separate building. When they awoke to patients' screams and the smell of smoke, they unlocked what doors they could and tried to extinguish the fire. (The Moscow Times 13.x.03) BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA HIGH REPRESENTATIVE SAYS BOSNIANS STILL 'MISTRUST' EU High Representative Paddy Ashdown told Munich's "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" of 7 October that the EU will need to include a U.S. military presence in Bosnia if the EU takes over the peacekeeping mandate there from NATO. He argued that many Bosnians still do not trust the EU, which they feel let them down during the 1991-95 conflict, adding that it was the United States that ended the war. Ashdown said the EU should learn from Washington in making its aid money contingent on the recipient meeting certain conditions. He noted that all political groups in Bosnia want EU membership and urged Brussels to keep the "door open" to the countries of Eastern Europe. Ashdown said he has advised Bosnians to point out what they can bring to the EU and not just think about what benefits membership will mean for them. (RFE/RL 07.x.03) BULGARIA IMAGE AT STAKE The possible appointment of a former communist-era intelligence chief as security advisor to the Bulgarian government, coupled with a court decision to allow a shady Russian businessman back into the country, has earned Sofia harsh criticism from the West, which warns that Bulgaria’s image is at stake. Prime Minister Simeon Saxecoburggotski’s announcement nearly four weeks ago of his intention to appoint former intelligence chief Brigo Asparuhov as security advisor in charge of coordinating the Interior and Defense Ministries’ special services, has continued to spark controversy ahead of Bulgaria’s 2004 NATO accession plans. NATO spokesperson Robert Pseschel said on 4 October that the possible appointment of Asparuhov is "a matter of great interest to all the countries in the alliance," though he stopped short of saying that the prime minister’s move could jeopardize Bulgaria’s chances of joining NATO next year. Asparuhov served as intelligence chief from September 1991 until the anti-communist government of Ivan Kostov replaced him in 1997. Before heading the service, he had worked as an intelligence agent for over two decades. In 1998, he was elected to the leadership of the Socialist Party (BSP) of former communists, and in 2001 he was elected to parliament. Legal procedures had earlier been launched against Asparuhov for his suspected involvement in the destruction of the communist-era dossier of Bulgarian banker Atanas Tilev in 1993. The case was frozen in 2001 because of the former intelligence chief’s diplomatic immunity as a parliamentarian. It was renewed on 16 September when the prime minister nominated him as security advisor, forcing him to leave his post in parliament. On 6 October, however, the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office suspended the case again. (TOL 12.x.03) CROATIA CURRENT PARLIAMENT TO HOLD ITS LAST SESSION ON FRIDAY Leaders of the ruling five-party coalition agreed at a meeting on Monday that the current parliament would hold its last session on Friday, Jutarnji List reported. MPs will be voting on 36 items on the agenda and debating 13. "We drew up a list of bills to be passed by this parliament, but there are still dilemmas over some items," Parliament President Zlatko Tomcic said. "After the parliament goes through the agreed agenda, it will make a decision on its dissolution, which will take effect on the day of its publication in the official gazette," he said. "On the basis of that decision, the president of the republic will call elections," he added. Earlier on Monday Tomcic met with President Stjepan Mesic and Prime Minister Ivica Racan to discuss the date of the forthcoming elections and in a joint statement they announced that they are expected to be held on November 23rd as previously announced. (NewsBase 16.x.03) CROATIA AWAITS EU'S DECISION On 9 October in Brussels, Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan presented European Commission President Romano Prodi with 10,000 pages of text in answer to 4,500 questions that the EU previously submitted to Croatia regarding its suitability for membership in the Brussels-based bloc. Croatia hopes for an answer by April 2004 as to when it can begin formal accession talks. The Racan government, which faces general elections on 23 November, has placed great hope in joining the EU in 2007, although EU officials have cautioned about setting a date for membership at this stage. Guenter Verheugen, who is EU enlargement commissioner, said recently that Croatia should not have to wait to start talks until other former Yugoslav republics are also ready, the "Financial Times" reported on 9 October. He argued that the EU can encourage the other republics to implement reforms by showing that Croatia's efforts have been rewarded. (RFE/RL 10.x.03) CZECH REPUBLIC CABINENT OKAYS ADOPTING EURO IN 2009-2010 The government yesterday approved a strategy for adopting the euro in 2009 or 2010. The prerequisites for the transfer to the joint European currency are a successful consolidation of public budgets, a sufficient level of real convergence, and progress in structural reform in order to coordinate the Czech and European economies. The exact date of the Czech Republic's accession in the Euro-zone will depend on the date of joining the ERM 2 currency exchange mechanism, in which the Czech crown should stay 2 years. The Finance Ministry and Central Bank will propose the latter date to the cabinet. (PBJ 14.x.03) COUNTRY LOSES GROUND IN TI'S 'PERCEPTION OF CORRUPTION' RANKINGS The Czech branch of non-profit organization Transparency International (TI) had good news and bad news to report last week about the Czech Republic. The bad news was that the Czechs sank two spots, from 52nd to 54th place, on the international Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Although the country saw a slight improvement in its overall rating, from 3.7 to 3.9 (10 being the least corrupt), it still ranked behind Belarus (53rd) and came third to last out of all the countries set to join the EU in May 2004. Only Latvia (57th) and Slovakia (59th) were worse. The Czech Republic also shared joint 54th place with Bulgaria, which is not slated to join the EU until 2007. "We have seen no real improvement in the way corruption is perceived here," said Adriana Krnacova, TI's executive director in the Czech Republic. The 3.9 rating for this year was a steep fall from that of almost 5.4 in 1996, but Marie Bohata, chairwoman of TI's local executive board and former head of the Czech Statistical Office (CSU), said this may actually be a positive sign. "This indicates to us that awareness of corruption as a problem in the Czech Republic is growing," she said. "The issue is getting more attention in the press, which helps us to keep up constant pressure on Czech politicians to tackle the problem." (PBJ 13.x.03) HUNGARY FORRAS CHANGES RULES ON PORTFOLIO SALE The board of the investment company Forrás Rt has altered the rules concerning the sale of shares in its portfolio, spokesman Csaba Thurzo said. Shares can be sold privately to a shareholder that already holds more than 50% of the company in question or to a group of shareholders with a combined direct and indirect 75% stake of a company. Forrás will have to sell all other shares publicly. For transparency in a public sale, the committee that evaluates bids must contain one member of the Forrás board of directors as a full member and one member of supervisory board member in a consultative capacity. (BBJ 14.x.03) 3CONCRETE TO BEGIN PRODUCTION IN UKRAINE 3Concrete, founded by 3 Hungarian firms will soon begin production in Ukraine. Trial production has already begun at the new reinforced concrete production unit, said Istvan Arvai, one of the 3 investors and communications director of Kesz. The investment is implemented by Kesz Ukraine, ASA and Ferrobeton. 3Concrete purchased the buildings of the factory from the liquidator of a local ferroconcrete factory. Kesz Ukraine will carry out reconstruction tasks while ASA and Ferrobeton will complete the installation of production technology. The director stated that several investments are being launched in Ukraine that utilise various ferroconcrete elements and supporting structures. Potential customers include multinational companies that have already become familiar with the work of the 3 firms in Hungary. Kesz' strategy focuses on regional expansion. The market is most promising in Romania where the company has a number of investments going on. (NewsBase 13.x.03) KAZAKHSTAN CHINA TO FUND $800M KAZAKH PIPELINE The Kazakh state oil firm said Thursday its Chinese counterpart had agreed to finance an $800 million oil pipeline from western Kazakhstan to northwestern China and construction works would start in mid-2004. The pipeline may become the first major oil supply link running from an ex-Soviet state to the giant, fast-growing energy consumer. Russian oil major Yukos has agreed with China to supply it with oil from Siberia, but Russia's government has not yet approved the proposed route. The new pipeline is also seen as a major boon for landlocked Kazakhstan, which hopes to triple crude output to more than 3 million barrels per day by 2015 but may face serious export bottlenecks with time. "The route from western Kazakhstan to China is now coming to the forefront. It looks like the situation around Yukos has played its role," Kairgeldy Kabyldin, managing director of Kazakhstan's oil and gas holding KazMunaiGaz, told reporters. "A joint decision has been adopted together with [China's state oil firm] CNPC to start construction of the oil pipeline in the middle of next year," he added. CNPC officials could not be immediately reached for comment. (The Moscow Times 10.x.03) BORDER DISPUTE BETWEEN KAZAKHSTAN, RUSSIA REMAINS UNRESOLVED Kazakhstan and Russia are supposed to finalize the delimitation of their common border in the first quarter of 2004, but neither side is willing to back down in a dispute over where the line should be drawn in the northern part of West Kazakhstan Oblast bordering on Russia's Orenburg Oblast, the "Karavan" website reported on 7 October. The dispute specifically concerns a railway station that is divided by the border -- if citizens of one country or the other get off at wrong end of the train they could become border violators -- and a nearby forest that both sides claim. Use of the Ilek River, which forms part of the border but frequently changes its course, is also part of the dispute because it supplies Kazakhstan's giant Karachaganak oil field. According to the report,it is unlikely the two countries will meet the deadline for settling the dispute. (RFE/RL 08.x.03) LATVIA PRESIDENT, PREMIER DISCUSS FUTURE OF GOVERNMENT COALITION President Vaira Vike-Freiberga told Prime Minister Einars Repse on 8 October that she hopes the parties in the ruling coalition will realize that the government has to tackle a number of important issues such as accession to the EU and NATO, administration of EU funds, and preparing Latvia's development strategy now, LETA and BNS reported. Repse said he is ready to do everything to improve communications between the government and parliament. He also said he regrets that the statements of coalition representatives in the parliament that they back the government are not always fulfilled when there is a vote. Repse said he considered calling for a vote of confidence in his government, but decided against the idea since, he feels, the upcoming vote on the 2004 budget will show the extent to which parliament trusts the government. (RFE/RL 09.x.03) POLAND BACA HAS EXCELLENT FIRST DAY ON WSE Shares of Bank Austria Creditanstalt (BA CA) rose as much as 11% to reach zl.160 upon the opening of Tuesday's session after becoming the first foreign company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). The session closed at zl. 153, a 6.25% increase in price in Warsaw and reaching 3% more in value than shares in Vienna, where the company has been listed for over three months. "The BA CA share price has reached a historical maximum on both exchanges, that must be recognized as a very effective debut. But only when BA CA shares enter the indexes, is when we will be able to tell what are the investors' demands," says Andrzej Powierza, analyst at DI BRE Bank. It is hard to say how long the share price will be higher in Warsaw than that in Vienna. During yesterday's day of trading, the value of turnover of shares reached zl. 50 million, and 160,000 shares changed hands in over 1,000 transactions. (WBJ 15.x.03) LATE ENTRANT PREDICTS 100 PERCENT GROWTH A latecomer to the local IT industry, Compuware, expects to double its revenues in the country over the next year, on the heels of opening its first Polish office. As one of the largest software companies in the world, Nasdaq-listed Compuware's strategy to officially open its doors to Poland last week makes it one of the few industry heavyweights that did not already have professionals on the ground in the country. Its recent decision reflects the need for all IT companies to become more ingrained in the country, in order to win the bigger contracts as the competition heats up. Nevertheless, via its Austrian office, the company has been able to procure an A-list of customers, which it plans to build on, Fuchsberger says. Through partner companies EuroCIM, SPIN and PB Polsoft, Compuware has, over roughly seven years in the market, been able to secure PKO BP, BRE Bank, the Ministry of Finance and Prokom as customers, among others. Last year's new software license provided E1 million in revenue in 2002, Fuchsberger says. That does not include maintenance of existing clients or other revenues from professional services, he adds. In the past, the company has been more present in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, though globally, Compuware has $1.3 billion in annual turnover in 54 countries. Poland is an important market today, owing to European Union integration - the most common impetus behind new market entrants - as well as the fact that many local businesses are snapping up new software at a faster clip than in neighboring countries. (WBJ 13.x.03) POLISH DEFENSE MINISTRY SPOKESMAN LOSES JOB OVER FRENCH MISSILES SPAT Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski on 7 October accepted the resignation of Defense Ministry spokesman Eugeniusz Mleczak, Polish media reported. Mleczak's statement on 3 October claiming that Polish soldiers in Iraq had found four French Roland-type antiaircraft missiles produced in 2003 provoked diplomatic discord between Warsaw and Paris last week. France has said it ended the production of Roland-type missiles in 1993, and Szmajdzinski subsequently offered official apologies, saying the Polish soldiers incorrectly identified the production date. Polish Television suggested on 7 October that the "scandal" around the Roland missiles might further result in recalling some service personnel from the Polish military contingent in Iraq. (RFE/RL 08.x.03) ROMANIA ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT ADOPTS NEW ANTICORRUPTION MEASURES Prime Minister Adrian Nastase announced on 10 October that his cabinet has adopted a series of new measures aimed at combating corruption, Mediafax reported. He argued that despite the fact that the issue is often overly politicized in Romania, "there's clearly a problem" with widespread corruption in the country. Nastase said the adopted measures focus primarily on the country's judiciary and public administration and on the business environment and promotion of transparency. Romania has been severely criticized recently for widespread corruption. (RFE/RL 14.x.03) GOVERNMENT SELECTS 11 COMPANIES FOR SNP PETROM PRIVATISATION The Ministry of Economy and Trade has selected 11 companies and consortiums to attend the next stage of privatisation process of national oil company SNP Petrom, while four letters of intent were rejected. The Ministry selected US firms Occidental Oil and Gas and Conoco Philips, Italy's ENI, Austria's OMV, Hungary's MOL, Poland's PKN Orlen, Russia's TNK-BP and Gazprom, Greece's Hellenic Petroleum, Switzerland's Glencore and Alon Inc. The shortlist did not include offers made by companies Halliburton (USA), Regal Petroleum Plc and Tender Romania, Phoenix Oil Ltd.- Cyprus, Kanooz Al Watan Oil Saudi Arabia and by Romanian Sicomiga Singleman ONG. The release does not stipulate the reasons of the rejection. Companies that qualified to make preliminary bids are entitled to buy a complete presentation of Petrom and Romania's full oil-market strategy, which are otherwise not publicly available. (NewsBase 08.x.03) RUSSIA RUSSIA ASKED TO COMPLY WITH EU DEMANDS ON ENERGY TO JOIN WTO The European Union has presented Russia with specific demands on possible energy-related commitments on joining the WTO. "These suggestions will be discussed during the EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy's visit to Moscow on October 16," the press service of the Economic Development Ministry told Interfax. The Economic Development Ministry did not elaborate on the content of the EU demands. Currently, negotiations with the EU regarding energy only the gas branch. All the disagreements on the fields of electricity and fuel have been lifted, said Maxim Medvedkov, the deputy head of the Economic Development Ministry and the chair of the Russian delegation at the negotiations with WTO. The negotiations with regard to Russia have come to a dead end and there is a possibility that they will be put off until next year. To make sure that they continue, the EU has to clarify their vision of energy prices, said German Gref, the head of the Economic Development Ministry. (Interfax 15.x.03) GREECE REFUSES TO EXTRADITE GUSINSKY A Greek appeals court on Tuesday rejected a Russian extradition request for Vladimir Gusinsky, accused in his country of fraud and money laundering. In a hearing that lasted about one minute, appellate court Judge Nikos Fagiolas threw out the Russian request after ruling that under Greek law the accusations against the former media magnate did not constitute a crime and were not proven. The hearing began with a short statement read out by defense lawyer Alexandros Lykourezos, who said Russian claims that Gusinsky owed money to the state were unfounded. After an equally short statement from another defense lawyer and a nod of assent from Gusinsky, Fagiolas read out the decision made jointly by the three-member appellate court. Gusinsky, who had been released on bail a week after his arrest in Athens on Aug. 21, was set free and left the downtown Athens court in a jeep. He was expected to return to his home in Israel later in the day, lawyers said. Russian prosecutors -- acting on the Greek court's request -- sent additional documentation last week to bolster the extradition bid for Gusinsky. The Prosecutor General's Office said new information sent on Sept. 7 gave details of Gusinsky's compensation agreement with state-owned gas company Gazprom, Interfax reported. The gas giant took over Gusinsky's media holdings in 2001 -- a move widely criticized as a blow to media freedom. The Prosecutor General's Office refused to comment on Tuesday's decision, saying it had yet to receive an official notification from Greece, Interfax reported. It said, however, that its investigation into Gusinsky remained ongoing. It was the second time Gusinsky has successfully blocked Russia's attempt to bring him back since fleeing the country three years ago. In 2001, Spanish authorities rejected an extradition request and freed him, saying the allegations would not amount to crimes in Spain. He then moved to Israel. Gusinsky has both Russian and Israeli passports. Israel and the United States had reportedly asked Greece to block the extradition, but Greece has denied being pressured. (The Moscow Times 15.x.03) ARRIVAL OF INVESTMENT BANKS TO RUSSIA UNAVOIDABLE The arrival of major international investment banks to the Russian market is unavoidable, Brunswick UBS General Director Marlen Manasov has said. The managers of the biggest investment banks are often seen "in the planes flying to Moscow. It is difficult to say when they will open their offices in Moscow, but they certainly will come to the Russian market," he said in an interview published by the Vedomosti newspaper on Monday. Banks that are already represented in Russia are becoming more active. Brunswick UBS recently starting working with Russian clients and CSFB is resuming brokerage operations from its Moscow office. "This has not been the case since the 1998 crisis." The merger of Russian investment companies will continue, he said. "It is very difficult for brokerage firms to make money on today's market. Work volumes are greater, the quality of services must be of the highest, and commissions are tiny: in the future spending and volumes will grow. So the meger of investment companies will continue," he said. Manasov said Russia's investment grade rating was epoch-making. The new rating will encourage foreign banks to increase their limits on Russian partners and Russian corporations will be able to raise more inexpensive funds. Investment funds in Japan and global funds with assets of about $1 trillion can invest in Russia. "I think at this stage there will be demand for companies with state participation [such as] Gazprom, Sberbank and Transneft," he said. (Interfax 13.x.03) ANOTHER INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST KILLED IN VOLGA REGION The co-founder and editor-in-chief of one of Russia’s hardest-hitting local newspapers has been killed, just 18 months after his co-founder and predecessor as editor was also murdered. Colleagues, prosecutors, and the Kremlin immediately said the murder of Alexei Sidorov was connected to the work of his newspaper, Tolyattinskoye Obozreniye, in uncovering crime in Tolyatti, a city 800 km southeast of Moscow on the River Volga. The city is a major industrial city and home to Russia’s largest car-maker, AvtoVAZ. Sidorov was repeatedly stabbed outside his apartment block on 7 October. He succeeded in crawling to the doorway to summon help from his wife via the intercom, but he died before doctors could reach him. His predecessor, Valery Ivanov, was shot six times (four times to the head) in April 2002. Deputy Media Minister Mikhail Seslavinsky immediately suggested the paper’s investigative journalism was the reason for Sidorov’s murder. Sidorov is the sixth journalist to be killed in the region in recent years. There have been no convictions, though a case is pending for one murder. Two of those killed were senior journalists at a local television station, Lada-TV, that Ivanov directed while also running Tolyattinskoe Obozrenie. The interest group Reporters Sans Frontieres said that in 2002, more journalists were killed in Russia than in any other country in Europe -- although Russia also has by far the largest population.While everyone believes that the murder was connected to Sidorov’s activities as a journalist, that still leaves a wide range of possible motives. (TOL 12.x.03) MOSCOW STRESSES POSSIBILITY OF USING MILITARY FORCE IN THE CIS At the same 9 October press conference, Defense Minister Ivanov said that Russia retains the right to use military force on the territory of the former Soviet republics, lenta.ru and other Russian media reported. "The CIS is a very crucial sphere for our security," Ivanov said. "Ten million of our compatriots live there, and we are supplying energy to them at prices below international levels. We are not going to renounce the right to use military power there in situations where all other means have been exhausted." He added that Russia intends to boost its military presence in the CIS, especially in Central Asia, and will insist upon the ultimate withdrawal of military bases established there by the U.S.-led international antiterrorism coalition. He noted that Moscow only agreed to the presence of such bases for the period necessary to stabilize Afghanistan and to achieve the goals set forth by the coalition. (RFE/RL 10.x.03) RUSSIAN STOCK MARKET CAPITALISATION TOPS $200 BLN The capitalization of stocks traded on the Russian Trading System (RTS) totaled $200.963 billion, Gazprom shares included, on Thursday, the day after Moody's assigned an investment rating to Russia. The market has grown nearly 80% since the start of this year. The market's capitalization Thursday rose $2.171 billion or 1.1% from Wednesday. The most capitalized stocks were Yukos ($35.635 billion), Gazprom ($34.681 billion) and Surgutneftegaz ($19.959 billion). Stock market capitalization was $111.37 billion on January 4, 2003. In other words, the market has grown nearly 79.64% since the start of this year (Interfax 10.x.03) MOSCOW ANGERED AS BRITAIN GRANTS ASYLUM TO FORMER OLIGARCH'S ASSOCIATE The Foreign Ministry reacted bitterly to a 7 October decision by the London Magistrates Court to grant political asylum to Yurii Dubov, a business associate of former oligarch Boris Berezovskii, RTR and Ekho Moskvy reported on 8 October. Both Dubov and Berezovskii, who was granted political asylum in Great Britain on 10 September, are wanted in Russia on charges of fraud and money laundering. Moscow continues to call for their extradition. The Foreign Ministry on 7 October issued a statement saying that "the purposeful harboring of Boris Berezovskii and Yurii Dubov on British territory" could damage the Russian-British partnership. Russian Ambassador to Great Britain Yurii Karasin told journalists in London on 7 October that "it would be naive to interpret the verdict in Dubov's case as only a legal or technical decision," the BBC reported. Dubov's attorney, Andrew Stevenson, welcomed the court's ruling, saying that the Russian government is persecuting his client for his criticisms of Moscow's policies in Chechnya and its suppression of the independent mass media. (RFE/RL 09.x.03) SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO ROW IN SERBIAN PARLIAMENT OVER NO-CONFIDENCE MEASURES On 14 October, members of the governing Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition delayed holding a parliamentary debate on two no-confidence motions against the government and one against speaker Natasa Micic, who is also acting president of Serbia, Serbian and International media reported. The DOS deputies postponed the discussion until 16 October. Tempers were short in the daylong legislative session, which was packed with deputies and reporters. Dragan Marsicanin, who heads the opposition Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) faction, called the proceedings "scandalous." Other opposition deputies said the government effectively brought itself down with its delaying tactics. The opposition wants early parliamentary elections, which DOS rejects. DOS has a narrow majority in the parliament, but "Vesti" reported on 11 October that deputies are being offered up to $35,000 by rival political parties to change sides. On 15 October, most Serbian media devoted more attention to the row in the parliament than to the Vienna talks on Kosova. (RFE/RL 15.x.03) UNMIK TO SUSPEND PRIVATISAION PROCESS IN THE SOUTHERN SERBIAN PROVINCE The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo's (UNMIK) said it will suspend the process of privatisation in the southern Serbian province following warnings from the Serbian government that it will challenge the provincial sell-off model in an international court. Serbian Privatisation and Economy Minister Aleksandar Vlahovic said that the privatisation suspension has come as no surprise, stressing that the local sell-off model did not comply with basic economic principles. UNMIK has been selling local companies without consulting their minority or majority owners in central Serbia who made substantial investment in their Kosovo assets, the minister said. He added that the suspension also challenges UNMIK's earlier sell-offs in the province. (NewsBase 13.x.03) SLOVAKIA A STAKE IN THE CEZ (Cz) POWER COMPANY OFFERED AS PARTIAL BID Slovenske Elektrarne power (SE) might go back to the Czechs, following the Czech government's offer to swap its 17% stake in CEZ for the Slovak company as part of the bid, according to reports in Sme and Mlada fronta Dnes. During the existence of Czechoslovakia CEZ and SE were one company. The 17% stake in CEZ is estimated to be worth $540 million, but the advisors of the SE sale PriceWaterhouseCoopers do not consider the offer to be attractive. The second attempt to sell a majority stake in SE will be launched next week and depending on the bids, a decision will be taken on how to sell the company - as a whole or in units. The first tender attracted eight bidders, but failed at the beginning of this year due to the terms and conditions offered by investors. (NewsBase 16.x.03) OUSTED OFFICIAL SAYS SLOVAK PM OFFERED HUGE BRIBE Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda finally got rid of security official Jan Mojzis. Now Mojzis may get his revenge in the court of public opinion. Dzurinda asked the cabinet to recall Mojzis, the head of the National Security Office (NBU) on 9 September, saying only that he had lost trust in the official whose office is in charge of issuing security clearances to state officials and companies dealing with sensitive information. Dzurinda persisted in his efforts in spite of NATO, U.S., and British concerns. When Defense Minister Ivan Simko, Dzurinda's fellow Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU) party member, refused to vote for Mojzis's removal, the prime minister asked for his recall as well. Simko resigned under pressure from his party. By early October Dzurinda managed to get enough support from his four-party coalition cabinet to vote Mojzis out. Immediately after the cabinet voted for his removal, Mojzis broke silence on the affair and in a series of interviews accused Dzurinda of corrupt practices. Dzurinda struck back on 5 October, calling all of Mojzis's allegations lies and saying he was considering filing a lawsuit against the former official. On 9 October, he hinted at the reasons for sacking Mojzis, saying in parliament that the move was taken to stop "an influential lobby" from gaining influence over the secret services. Earlier, the prime minister had spoken of a "little group" that threatened the country's security. (TOL 12.x.03) UKRAINE UKRAINE REACHES AGREEMENT WITH CHEVRONTEXACO FOR ODESSA-BRODY PIPELINE Ukraine has reached a preliminary framework agreement with ChevronTexaco on using the Odessa-Brody pipeline for pumping oil to Europe, Interfax-Ukraine reported, quoting Ukraine's envoy for the Eurasian transport corridor, Oleksandr Todiychuk, as saying on October 10, returning from Washington. Todiychuk said that conditions of a relevant contract were yet under discussion, but that, preliminarily, it was agreed to pump around 5m tonnes of crude oil per annum to Europe. He said Ukraine is going to meet in London with representatives of the private companies working in the Caspian region and those owning oil-processing factories in Europe, in order to reach contracts to use the pipeline. ChevronTexaco owns 50% in TengizShevroOil, which extracts oil in Kazakhstan. (NewsBase 14.x.03) UKRAINIAN BORDER GUARDS ON ALERT AS RUSSIAN DAM PROJECT APPROACHES COMPLETION Ukrainian State Border Service head Mykola Lytvyn and National Security and Defense Council Deputy Secretary Petro Shatkivskyy have visited the Tuzla islet in Kerch Strait that links the Black and Azov seas to check the preparedness of border guards near a dike that is being constructed on Russia's Taman Peninsula, Interfax reported on 13 October. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry recently warned Moscow that the construction of the dam might violate Ukraine's state border and territorial integrity. "Ukrainian guards will not apply arms in detaining offenders of the state border in this sector. Yet it does not mean they will be just onlookers," the State Border Service said in a statement, adding that Ukrainian border guards will find other ways to discourage any possible Russian trespassers. Kyiv has reportedly sent a reinforced border-guard unit to the islet and set an antitank hedgehog facing the construction, which has come to within 1 kilometer of the islet. The Verkhovna Rada is set to hold a hearing on the possible border conflict with Russia. (RFE/RL 14.x.03) INFORMATION PROVIDERS - For either a free trial, or for further information on the services of our Information Providers, please contact: NEWSBASE NewsBase is a leading provider of business and economic news and intelligence from Russia, Central Europe and the FSU. Daily bulletins and industry specific weekly reports backed by an archive containing over 10 million words combine to provide a comprehensive service to a global blue chip client base. Contact: Jon Laurijssen T: +44 (0)131 478 8537 F: +44 (0)131 478 7001 E: [email protected] W: www.newsbase.com, www.newsbaseworldmonitoring.com INTERFAX Interfax News Agency is part of Interfax Information Services Group. 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