Investor in Sochi Games calls for tax rebates

MOSCOW (AP) -- A key investor in Russia's 2014 Olympics is lobbying the government to create a special economic zone in the region and offer tax rebates for companies operating there.

Sergei Bachin, director general of Roza Khutor, which is building an Alpine ski resort, a snowboard and freestyle park and one of the three Olympic villages, said in an interview with the Associated Press on Wednesday that his company made the request in a letter to the government last month.

Roza Khutor is owned by Interros, an investment vehicle of tycoon Vladimir Potanin that is spending about $2.2 billion on Olympic projects in Sochi.

Basic Element, a holding company of billionaire Oleg Deripaska, has also called for government compensation for some of the losses it has incurred in Sochi.