Problem of returning assets privatized with violations to treasury can be regulated by law - Putin

ST. PETERSBURG. June 7 (Interfax) - The prosecutor's office is returning to the state assets privatized with violations of a criminal nature, but there must be "sensible boundaries" in this issue, and they can be regulated by law, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"The state can be an effective owner and has demonstrated this in many cases, especially in industries associated with big investments, since at that time [the1990s] no one had investments. Then there were all sorts of fraudulent schemes, when during this pseudo-privatization, in fact theft of state property, money was taken from state banks, assets were sold for a pittance, and then from this asset's work they repaid or did not even repay loans taken from state banks, which is theft," Putin said, when asked by the moderator what assets might be de-privatized.

"So of course, when we are talking about decisions related to privatization [in the 1990s] that are incorrect from an economic point of view, but still legal, then I'd leave them well alone. The prosecutor's office deals only with issues related to the criminal nature of the privatization of state property," Putin said.

"But you're right that there should be some sensible boundaries here, and we talk about and discuss this with businesses. In general, I advocate making the appropriate decision not even at the level of a presidential decree or government resolution, but by law. Now my colleagues from business and I are thinking about this together, and I think we will find this solution," Putin said.