MOSCOW, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The global fiscal crisis has hurt Russia's billionaires, who are now seeking help but fear a Kremlin bailout is politically motivated, a business group says.
Moscow pledged more than $200 billion this month to bolster stock markets, banks and key companies.
Relative to the Russian economy's size, the program is larger proportionally than the $700 billion Washington allocated to rescue the U.S. financial system.
But the Russian billionaires, who run many big private companies and have large foreign investments, fear Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will use the bailout to help friends and punish enemies, The Washington Post reported Friday.
The money may not be enough, an influential business group says.
The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs published an unusually blunt letter last week warning the reserves could be exhausted within two years and urging the Kremlin to refrain from playing favorites as it distributes aid.
The Kremlin often only helps the few, privileged businessmen who can get meetings with officials, group President Alexander Shokhin said in the letter. In contrast to previous practice, "The principles of providing state support to companies should be made public and transparent," he wrote.
The Kremlin had no immediate comment.
Russia's stock benchmark Russian Trading System and Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange both sank about 5 percent Friday to close below the psychologically important levels of 700 and 600 points, respectively.
