Gazprom transfers Moldovan region's gas debts to tycoon Usmanov - paper.

(From BBC Monitoring International Reports)

Russia's Gazprom has handed over Moldovan breakaway Dniester region's gas debts to businessman Alisher Usmanov, a Russian newspaper has said. The rebel region, however, refused to acknowledge the liabilities. Usmanov will act on the Kremlin's behalf, and the move further boosts the presence of Russian and Ukrainian businessmen in the Dniester region, the paper said. The following is the text of the article by Svetlana Gamova and Mikhail Sergeyev entitled "Gazprom hands over Dniester region to Alisher Usmanov. President Smirnov refuses to pay new creditor" published in Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta on 23 March; subheadings have been inserted editorially:

Russian state-supported business is today buying up not only foreign assets but entire republics within the post-Soviet area. Yesterday [ 22 March] it became known that Gazprom structures have handed over the Dniester region's debts for Russian gas, totalling 1.3bn dollars, to the Metalloinvest holding company, which is controlled by Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov. The Dniester region's gas debt is three times the republic's annual GDP and nearly 10 times its state budget. The news caused a real commotion in the unrecognized republic. …