UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 29, 2019. Bribe-related damage amounted to RUB 12 billion in Ural Federal District last year, Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President in Ural Federal District Nikolay Zukanov said at the Anti-Bribery & Corruption Council’s meeting on Thursday. Zukanov said close to RUB 6.5 billion had been paid back after police investigations and a number of criminal trials. The official also stressed that special attention should be paid to hiring better quality candidates for the civil service jobs and that anti-bribery measures should grow more

UrBC, Moscow, April 29, 2019. The Central Bank of Russia’s Board of Directors confirmed that the key rate would stay at 7.75% p.a. - for the fifth month in a row. ‘Annual inflation passed the local peak in March and started to subside in April. Consumer prices current growth rates track somewhat below the Bank of Russia forecast. In April, inflation expectations of households rose slightly after a tangible drop in March. Business price expectations continued to decline but remain at an elevated level. Short-term proinflationary risks have abated. The Bank of Russia’s decisions to raise the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 26, 2019. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) now offers its business customers up to 10% in cashback if the company card gets used to get their vehicles ready for a new season, the bank’s press service reports. The bank is paying up to 10% in cashback on all purchases related to new tires, tire-changing service, and car wash if you pay with the UBRD company card. There’s also 1% cashback payment on the spare parts, the new car paint, and the mechanic’s bill. ‘April and May are the time to have the tires changed on both your personal and your

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 26, 2019. Sverdlovsk Region’s residents owe the state RUB 1.7 million in unpaid motor vehicle tax for 2018, Head of the Federal Tax Service’s Sverdlovsk Region division’s Debt Settlement Department Artem Balyura said at a press conference in Yekaterinburg today. Balyura said the locals also owed RUB 1.1 billion in property tax and nearly RUB 700 million in land tax.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 26, 2019. Ural Airlines introduce a new Yekaterinburg-Magadan-Yekaterinburg flight (via Yakutsk) starting June 3. According to the air carrier’s press service, flight U6 1373 Yekaterinburg-Yakutsk-Magadan will get operated every Monday; flight U6 1374 Magadan-Yakutsk-Yekaterinburg will get operated every Tuesday. Prices start from RUB 17,000 (Yekaterinburg-Magadan), RUB 14,700 (Yekaterinburg-Yakutsk), and RUB 7,000 (Yakutsk-Magadan). Subsidized tickets (RUB 7,500, one way) for Yekaterinburg-Magadan and Magadan-Yekaterinburg flights are also available for Russian

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 26, 2019. EVRAZ Nizhny Tagil Metallurgical Plant (EVRAZ NTMK) coordinated large-scale civil defense and emergency drills at its sites this month. The drills involved the gas rescue service, doctors from NikoMed medical unit, firefighters from Section 4 of the Federal Fire Service, the private security company Interlock NTMK, and members of Nizhniy Tagil Council. According to EVRAZ Holding Ural’s Corporate Relations Center, the drills focused on rescue operations after a chlorine explosion and an oil spill, informing the management in case of an emergency, practicing

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 26, 2019. ChelPipe Group joined in the all-Russian No Turnstile Week this month; the initiative was meant to support job counseling programs for the young. More than 2,000 people went on guided tours of ChelPipe Group’s enterprises in Chelyabinsk, Pervouralsk, and Almetyevsk as a result. According to the Group’s press service, high school and college students, teachers, and parents could all take a look at their up-to-date pipe-rolling and pipe-drawing facilities, welding departments, metal treatment departments, assembly sites, and hi tech industrial robots; they

UrBC, Moscow, April 25, 2019. The number of telecom facilities run by Russia’s Big4 ISPs rose by 3% since the start of the year. There are currently 719,282 base stations in Russia that are in charge of reliable Internet and mobile connection for the local users, Roskomnadzor’s press service reports. According to Roskomnadzor’s radio frequency service, MegaFon runs the country’s largest network at the moment. The telecom company owns 232,055 base stations at the moment (33% of all the stations active in Russia). This is, in fact, 2% more than one year earlier. MTS owns 180,068 base stations,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 25, 2019. Tyumen Region Customs identified 17,000 pirated toys in Kurgan Region: according to his papers, a national of Kazakhstan was handling a shipment of children’s toys made in China for a customer in Yekaterinburg. The toys had been meant to get sold in Moscow later on, Ural Customs’ press service reports. The shipment comprised 17,000 children’s toys and phones with Talking Tom, Tobot, L.O.L., and Masha and the Bear logos on them. ‘When enquired about the product authenticity, the trademark owners confirmed the logos had been put on the toys illegally. The

UrBC, Moscow, April 25, 2019. Russia’s Central Bank says the financial pyramid schemes currently tend to migrate to the Urals and Siberia, Izvestia refers to Director of the bank’s Department for Countering Misconduct Valeriy Lyakh as stating. The schemes get tested for viability first and get transferred to larger parts of the country later, as people there tend to be less aware of fraudulent practices, Lyakh explains. 61 pyramid schemes got uncovered in Russia in the first quarter of the year all in all; 31 one of these were limited liability companies, 10 were online projects (including 3

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, April 25, 2019. 63 forged bills got identified within Chelyabinsk Region’s banking system in the first quarter of 2019, which was 2.7 times less than one year previously. According to the Bank of Russia’s Chelyabinsk Region division, they found 51 5,000-ruble bills and 10 1,000-ruble ones that had been forged. The number of the former thus dropped by 65% (2.9 times) compared with one year earlier, while the number of the latter dropped by 5 bills. ‘One reason the number of forged bills went down in Chelyabinsk Region is that the Bank of Russia had the banks’ tellers

UrBC, Moscow, April 25, 2019. Nissan Manufacturing RUS is calling 771 Nissan Terrano crossovers off the Russian market due to possible brake issues, Rosstandart reports. ‘The automobiles are subject to recall due to possibly faulty installation of the brake booster diaphragm. Improper installation might result in a vacuum leak when the car is in motion, which, in its turn, brings about some noises from the booster and might make the braking process less efficient,’ Rosstandart says. Being recalled are the automobiles sold between July 2017 and January 2018; the brake components will get

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, April 24, 2019. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) directed more than RUB 58 million to environmental programs in 2000-2018, MMK’s Information & PR Department refers to the company’s environmental report as indicating. RUB 9 million got allocated for the purpose last year alone. The plant carried its environmental report in order to provide all interested parties with detailed information on the company’s environmental safety efforts. The report dwells on MMK’s environmental policy principles, results of its green projects implemented in 2000-2018, and the key

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 24, 2019. Yekaterinburg is now the Greater Urals’ first city to get MegaFon’s NarrowBand Internet of things within the existing network segment, the telecom company’s press service reports. ‘Our NB-IoT package is fully ready for millions of meters, sensors, and other devices active within the metropolis. This is a machine- rather than human-oriented network, so this is a great solution for production process improvements. The NB-IoT allows both private companies and state-run organizations to cut down on costs with the help of smart devices; the narrow-band network

UrBC, Moscow, April 24, 2019. The Russian Accounts Chamber uncovered 9,235 instances of budget funds getting misused in 2018; this was 1.5 times more often than in the year 2017. All the instances in question amounted to RUB 772.7 billion worth of mismanaged funds (nearly twice as little as one year previously), the chamber’s report states. The chamber’s checks and investigations resulted in forty criminal lawsuits, seventy-eight cases of ongoing operational-investigative activities, and RUB 7.5 billion getting transferred back to the national budget. Last year, most of the problems had to do

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 24, 2019. 115 forged Russian ruble bills were identified within Sverdlovsk Region’s banking system in the first quarter of 2019 (total ruble amount: RUB 485,000). According to the Central Bank of Russia’s Ural division, most of the bills (91 units) are 5,000-ruble ones. 1,000-ruble bills are the second most popular choice with forgers. Also, two fake 500-ruble bills, one 50-ruble bill, two 2,000-ruble bills, and four foreign currency banknotes (U.S. dollars) got identified as well.

UrBC, Moscow, April 24, 2019. Russia’s Accounts Chamber suggested that it should become obligatory for the Russian banks to join in the Central Bank of Russia’s financial data transfer system, the Chamber’s annual report for the year 2018 states. The change is meant to prevent any halted transactions inside the national finance market and to reduce the negative impact that limited (or nonexistent) access to the international banking system might have on the Russian banking sector and the national economy, the report states. The financial data transfer system got set up in 2014 as the national

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 23, 2019. EVRAZ Holding is going to help Kachkanar Council organize the hot water supply for the local end users in the summer, which is expected to ensure reliable supply even in the remotest parts of the town and improve the locals’ living standards, EVRAZ Holding Ural’s Corporate Relations Center reports. Kachkanar Heat & Power Station will switch to a new circulation scheme for its hot water supply system for ten days at the end of this heating season. Once these ten days are over, the hot water samples will get tested to check the water quality and gauge

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 23, 2019. Degtyarsk Council and SKB-Bank signed a socioeconomic cooperation agreement so that the bank could now support the town council’s programs and projects, the bank’s press service reports. SKB-Bank will also be issuing loans and offering banking service packages to local customers. The bank already holds a socioeconomic cooperation agreement with Sverdlovsk Region Government and a number of local towns, including Nevyansk, Krasnoufimsk, Asbest, and Verkhnyaya Salda.

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, April 23, 2019. ChelPipe Group’s member enterprise Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant (ChelPipe) hosted United Russia’s 1st Environmental Forum this week. The plant’s Vysota 239 Department served as a venue for the session on air emissions in industrial locations as the core of the environment vs. the economy conflicts. The talks given dwelled on air quality and on the Russian President’s Executive Order On National Goals and Strategic Objectives of the Russian Federation through to 2024, the company’s press service reports. ChelPipe’s Managing Director Evgeny Gubanov talked