MOSCOW, January 17 - RAPSI. The Prosecutor General's Office has asked regional prosecutors to investigate the claims that administrative barriers hinder business following a report made by President Vladimir Putin, the office said in a press release published on its website on Thursday. Federal agencies will also be inspected as part of these efforts.

"Regional prosecutors have been instructed to investigate the reasons for the red tape and to take measures to remove administrative obstacles hindering business development," the office said. "The Prosecutor General's Office will hold the inspections at federal agencies, which violate businesses' rights more frequently than other organizations, as evidenced by the majority of the complaints."

The office has urged prosecutors to focus on the differences in the costs of government services in the regions and the time that it takes businesses to receive them.
At a State Council Presidium meeting on improving investment attractiveness in the regions on December 27, Putin stressed the need to enhance entrepreneurs' status, adding that open and honest privatization is one of the ways to achieve this goal.