Mayor Yury Luzhkov was Thursday elected chairman of the newly established Board of Trustees, a joint group of bankers and city policemen.
Luzhkov said the goal of the board was to coordinate the work of all funds, companies and banks that wanted to help in the financing and reequipment of law-and-order organs.
"What we do now to fight crime is not enough," he said. "We need to attract extra resources and we hope this new undertaking will be supported by business."
The formation of this new board follows the announcement of new figures which show the speed with which organized crime is growing. According to the Interior Ministry, there were 200 contract killings in Russia in 1993, compared with 100 in 1992. Most were committed against businessmen.
Extortion is also increasing at a rapid rate, the ministry said. There had been 8,014 cases of extortion over the first six months in 1994, compared with 5,566 during the same period in 1993.
Hostage-taking has boomed too, with ransom demands ranging from 5 million rubles ($2,300) to 500 million rubles. According to Interior Ministry statistics, there were 51 cases of hostage-taking considered in courts in 1993, compared with only three cases in 1992. There were no such cases in 1991, according to official records.
The problem is exacerbated by the fact that hundreds of police officers nationwide are taking part in crime, said Alexander Dementyev, acting head of the Organized Crime Department.
Dementyev said. "Very often people do not believe that police could help and protect them."
Dementyev said there were cases when policemen cooperated with extortionists or became extortionists themselves. In 1993, the security department of the Interior Ministry charged 500 policemen with extortion, he said.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.