MOSCOW, March 12 - RAPSI. Presidential Commissioner for Entrepreneurs' Rights Boris Titov has received upwards of 700 complaints since taking office in June 2012, he announced at a RIA Novosti press conference Tuesday.

Roughly 40% of complaints have concerned the criminal prosecution of businesses, Titov said.

Every complaint is considered according to the established procedure, Titov noted. If a business complains that it has been the victim of unlawful prosecution, an expert evaluation is ordered from the Business Against Corruption Center.

If the center's experts decide that the ombudsman must intervene, Titov does so by exercising his powers as the presidential commissioner.

Meanwhile, his public representatives help him to consider complaints concerning administrative cases.

Titov and his staff are presently developing a system for accepting and considering the complaints given their large volume, according to the ombudsman.
Approximately 10%-15% of complaints are resolved at the regional level.

At the same time, a number of complaints concern purely corporate conflict, which does not fall within the ombudsman's field of competence, he said. "The situation concerning criminal pressure placed on businesses is serious, but it is improving," Titov said.