GROZNY, September 29 (RIA Novosti) - Criminal rings steal at least one-third of the oil produced and refined in the troubled Russian republic of Chechnya, costing its economy hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue every year, the Interior Ministry said in a press release Thursday.
The ministry said most of the stolen refined oil products were smuggled out of the republic to be sold at a profit in neighboring regions to line ring leaders' pockets, as well as to finance terrorist activities and bribe government officials.
The ministry said oil theft had now surpassed the boundaries of economic crime to become closely associated with illegal arms trade, kidnappings, and terrorism.
Eighty-two oil refineries, 31 extraction facilities, and 5 pipeline taps used for illegal crude bunkering were reportedly detected and destroyed in Chechnya during a recent police operation.
