President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday submitted a bill to the State Duma that seeks to ban government officials from holding overseas bank accounts or owning foreign-issued bonds and shares.
The legislation, part of a raft of measures proposed by the president that ostensibly target corruption and foreign influence in Russia, appeared to be a softened version of a bill passed in a first reading by the Duma last year stipulating fines or jail time for officials who do not give up certain foreign assets.
Putin’s bill would apply to federal and regional officials, senior prosecutors, board members at the Central Bank and employees at state corporations, according to a copy of the legislation published on the Duma’s official website.
Diplomats and other officials serving abroad would be entitled to keep overseas assets, but officials’ spouses and children, in whose names accounts and assets are often registered to bypass declaration rules, would be included in the ban.
According to the text of the bill, officials must close their foreign accounts and sell any foreign assets within three months of the legislation coming into force. Officials who fail to comply would be fired.
Pro-Kremlin lawmakers backed the move Tuesday as a cornerstone of the government’s anti-corruption strategy, while others linked the bill with efforts to shield Russia from foreign interference.
“Putin is gradually realizing his stated aim of tackling corruption, achieving the deoffshoreization of the economy, instilling responsible behavior in the national elite and preventing dishonest lobbying,” said Irina Yarovaya, head of the State Duma’s Security and Anti-Corruption Committee.
Read more: Putin Submits Bill Banning Officials From Holding Foreign Assets | News | The Moscow Times
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