MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that he himself was "flabbergasted" when people are sentenced to 14-or 15-year sentences for economic-based "white-collar" crimes, but as long as the relevant law remains on the books, it must be enforced.

"You understand, when you say such things now, and I also hear and see when there are 14, 15-year sentences [handed down] for certain economic crimes, frankly speaking, I myself was a bit flabbergasted when I heard about it. I know about it, in general, it's excessive, it's obvious," the president said at his combined Direct Line Q&A session and year-end press conference.

At the same time, Putin pointed out that many countries stack up consecutive prison terms for white-collar crimes, such as tax evasion, antitrust violations, and in crimes uncovered in the fight against cartels, which result in people being sentenced to serve incredibly lengthy terms, even 100 years. "But why does this happen? Because society and the legislative branch assume that, at a certain stage of social and economic development, the threat to society at large represented by such criminal acts is so great that it requires a commensurate, appropriate, as the lawmakers see it, response so as to effectively interdict such illegal activity," the president noted. "The fact that we have something to think about here is correct. But, as long as the [relevant] law is on the books, it must be enforced," the head of state concluded.