Gov't to pay $638m in compensations to citizens

The planned volume of compensations to be paid to citizens for their deposits will amount to 20bn rubles ($638m), Deputy Finance Minister Bella Zlatkis declared at a meeting of the Federation Council commission for collaboration with the Audit Chamber. She pointed out that compensations grew every year. In particular, some 16.6bn rubles ($530m) in compensations were paid in 2002; next year some 25bn rubles (about $800m) in compensations are to be allocated.

According to federal legislation, the state debt includes deposits in Sberbank of the Russian Federation, securities of the State Insurance Fund (Gosstrakh) and securities of the USSR and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). According to the Audit Chamber, the total volume of these debts is 345.55bn non-denominated rubles.