Kazakh Premier Orders Tough Actions Against Middlemen in Foodstuffs

Text of report by Kazakhstan Today news agency website; ellipses as published throughout:

Astana, 22 October: Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov has instructed law-enforcement bodies to prevent the work of middlemen [companies] in food products to the extent of criminal punishment. He gave such an instruction at a government meeting.

“I have seen how these issues are resolved in Russia… two or three middlemen, who do not realize the social responsibility of business and who make hay, have been detained in public and others have given up an intention straight away,” Karim Masimov told representatives of law-enforcement bodies.

“I have an instruction to law-enforcement bodies and the competition protection committee [of the Kazakh Industry and Trade Ministry] … we should also adopt this experience which, I believe, is positive at the moment,” he added.

Karim Masimov said that the competition protection committee provided all relevant information. “All these documents should be submitted to court in line with legislation… We will publicly punish those who have taken advantage of the moment so that they do not do it again next time,” he said, summing up the results of discussions.

Originally published by Kazakhstan Today news agency website, Almaty, in Russian 0519 22 Oct 07.

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