MOSCOW, September 23. /ITAR-TASS/. The Russian State Duma lower parliament house on Tuesday passed in the first reading a presidential bill binding Russian nationals seeking any state service positions to disclose their incomes.
Apart from that, the bill expands the list of officials banned from having deposits with foreign banks.
“Now, only citizens seeking a number of positions in state service are obliged to declare their incomes. The bill extends this liability to all who want to be employed in state service,” Irina Yarovaya, the chairwoman of the State Duma anti-corruption committee, told ITAR-TASS.
Apart from that the bill extends the ban on having deposits with foreign banks outside Russia to all state servants taking part in decision making in the areas linked with Russia’s sovereignty and national security. Such officials will also be prohibited to have or use foreign financial tools. Currently, this ban is applicable only to federal-level officials who are appointed and dismissed directly by the president, prime minister of prosecutor general.
In case the bill is passed into law, all federal-and regional-level state servants, employees of the Central Bank and state-run corporations will be prohibited to have foreign deposits.
Whereas now state officials are obliged to declare their expenses only in case a deal exceeds his or her family’s incomes in the past three years, the bill binds them to disclose details of any deal or purchase whose aggregate price exceeds a certain fixed level. “It actually means that control will be exercised over all property and deals of state servants,” Yarovaya said.
Prosecutors will be vested with the right to file suits with courts of arbitration claiming reclamation of state and municipal property from unlawful possession.