Sheriff (company)
| Sheriff SAO
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | |
| founding | June 23, 1993 |
| Seat |
Tiraspol , Transnistria.svg){kind=small}
|
| management | Viktor Gushan |
| Number of employees | 13,157 (2012) |
| Website | sheriff.md |
Sheriff ( Cyrillic Шериф; also Șerif ) is the largest company in Transnistria . Sheriff was founded in June 1993 by Wiktor Guschan and Ilja Kasmaly and, according to their own statements, got his name based on the earlier activities of the company's founders as police officers.
Sheriff is now active in numerous areas of the Transnistrian private sector and, due to his economic power, has increasing influence on Transnistrian politics.
Some sources claimed that the company was actually owned by former Transnistrian President Igor Smirnov and that it was primarily used for money laundering .
The sheriff group also includes the spirits manufacturer Kvint and the telecommunications company Interdnestrkom .
Companies
Sheriff owns a chain of petrol stations , a supermarket chain , the TSW TV station , a publishing house , a housing company , has been running the Transnistrian Mercedes-Benz branch, the Ekskljusiv advertising agency , the Kvint liqueur factory , two large bakeries and the only mobile operator in Transnistria, Interdnestrcom , since 1999 . The founders of the group also own the internationally known football club FC Sheriff Tiraspol , whose new stadium with an integrated luxury hotel , which was built for 200 million US dollars , is in turn operated by Sheriff . Sheriff , as the operator of the Tiraspol casino, actually holds the gambling monopoly in Transnistria and is also active in the banking sector through company investments.
The company's parent company operates as ЗАО, which can be translated as “closed stock corporation” and roughly corresponds to a German GmbH . Figures on profit and turnover have not yet been published, according to Sheriff currently employs a total of around 12,500 people, the majority of them in the food and beverage production. 13 supermarkets or shopping centers and 10 petrol stations are currently operated nationwide (figures for 2006). If one puts these numbers in relation to the comparatively small population of Transnistria (2004: 555,347), the dominant position of sheriffs for the Transnistrian economy can be explained at least statistically .
Political Relations
The extensive international isolation of Transnistria favored the sheriff's development into the dominant company of the "state" and his monopoly position in many areas of the economy. A mutual dependency relationship arose (at least temporarily) between President Igor Smirnow and the Sheriff , in which the company financially supported the government's policies and the government granted the company extensive tax and customs concessions in return. In this context, it is particularly noteworthy that the customs authority is headed by the president's son, Vladimir Smirnov, who is also said to have a financial stake in the company.
As a result, however, the unexplained status of Transnistria had a negative impact on the growth of the sheriff group, so that the company began to support the "Renewal" party, which was founded in 2000 and which, in addition to the goal of independence, is primarily aimed at the Business interests. In the meantime, both the sheriff's founder, Kazmaly, and the head of personnel, Ilona Tjurjajewa, are MPs for the “Renewal” party. Oleg Smirnov, another son of the president and also a member of parliament, is in turn a member of Sheriff's management .
Aided by the control of the Transnistrian cellular network and the television station TSW , Sheriff was able to expand his influence on the politics of the state. The party he supported, “Renewal”, finally won 23 of the 43 seats in the 2005 parliamentary elections and thus an absolute majority. As a result of the election victory, the long-time parliamentary president Grigori Marakuza was replaced by Yevgeny Shevchuk , the chairman of the renewal party who was close to the sheriff .
Fearing a loss of power, President Smirnov accused Shevchuk and the sheriff of preparing a coup. It was alleged that the sheriff was in charge of reconnecting Transnistria to Moldova and that the mother country or neighboring country had promised extensive economic benefits for this. The allegations were vigorously denied by the sheriff and, in this context, his own interests in the political independence of Transnistria were confirmed. In the public dispute between the sheriff and Smirnov, Smirnov finally received the support of the Russian government.
Notes and individual references
- ↑ http://sheriff.md/company/econom/
- ↑ Land of Bad Smiles . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , Magazin , No. 38/2006; Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ↑ a b c Unrecognized elections . In: GEO , No. 09/2006; Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ↑ Lucy Ash: Misery in a Pariah State . BBC Radio 4 , April 1, 2004; Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ↑ a b Patti McCracken: A place the world chooses to forget: Moldova's breakaway region is a pawn in its fight with Russia . In: San Francisco Chronicle , February 12, 2006; Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ↑ a b c Kathrin Hillgruber: The Patriots of Transnistria . In: Die Welt , June 14, 2008.
- ↑ a b sheriff.md, accessed April 19, 2011.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h V. Solovyev, M. Zygar: The Old Guard Wins in Transdniestria. ( Memento of the original from June 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Kommersant , September 19, 2006; Retrieved November 8, 2006.
- ↑ George Jahn: Hotbed of Weapons Deals . In: The Washington Times , Jan. 18, 2004; Retrieved November 17, 2006.
- ↑ a b Moldova’s Future Uncertain. ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF) International Crisis Group. Retrieved November 8, 2006.
- ↑ a b Transnistria 2006: Is Regime Change Underway? ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. British Helsinki Human Rights Group; Retrieved November 8, 2006.
- ↑ Oleh Protsyk: Moldova's Dilemmas in Democratizing and Reintergrating Transnistria. (PDF; 157 kB) International Policy Fellowships; Retrieved November 8, 2006.
- ^ Arne Semsrott: hammer, sickle, cognac . In: Zeit-Online (Zuender) ; Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ↑ a b Renewal, Pridnestrovie's reformist opposition party . pridnestrovie.net; Retrieved November 8, 2006.
- ↑ Member of the current electoral term Transnistrian Parliament; Retrieved April 20, 2011
- ↑ Sheriff - A Kolkhoz with a private beneficiary . ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: hotnews.ro, 19. July 2006; Retrieved November 13, 2006.
- ^ A b Igor Botan: Democracy and governing in Moldova. E-Democracy.md, January 17, 2006; Retrieved November 16, 2006.
- ↑ Discover Europe's unknown country . ( Memento of the original from July 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Pridnestrovie.info; Retrieved April 20, 2011.
- ^ Kremlin protects small states . In: Der Spiegel . No. 22 , 2006, p. 104 ( online ).
Web links
- The official Sheriff's website (English)
- Presentation of the Sheriff Group (English)
- TSV, the television station Sheriffs (Russian)