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NO 'UNTOUCHABLES' IN FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION - KREMLIN
MOSCOW, February 21 (RIA Novosti) - No one should be immune to
prosecution for corruption, including high-ranking officials and
lawmakers, Kremlin administration chief Sergei Ivanov said on Thursday.
According to Ivanov, the public expects more efficiency and
professionalism from investigators in the fight against corruption
that plagues Russian society.
"I have to emphasize that we do not have untouchables," Ivanov said
at a meeting of Russia's Investigative Committee Board.
"We must act decisively and pay no regard to posts and ranks," he said.
Russia was ranked 133rd out of 174 countries in the latest Corruption
Perception Index by Transparency International, published in December.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in February that some 50,000
corruption cases are currently being investigated in Russia.
In the latest series of corruption exposes, companies controlled by the
Russian Defense Ministry are being probed on fraud charges that total
over 13 billion rubles ($433 million). The so-called Oboronservis case
led to the sacking of Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov last November.
According to Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika, damages from
corruption cost the state budget 21 billion rubles ($690 million)
last year alone.
In 2012, Russian authorities prosecuted 889 officials, including
244 city mayors and 114 lawmakers of various levels, and 1,159 law
enforcement officials on corruption charges.
President Vladimir Putin submitted a draft bill to the State Duma last
week prohibiting Russian officials from holding bank accounts abroad
or owning foreign-issued shares and bonds, while the presidential
anti-corruption council proposed additional sanctions against corrupt
state officials.
In addition, Russia plans to spend some 3.5 million rubles ($117,000)
on anti-corruption training for federal civil servants as part of
the fight against corruption.
From: Baghdasarian
MOSCOW, February 21 (RIA Novosti) - No one should be immune to
prosecution for corruption, including high-ranking officials and
lawmakers, Kremlin administration chief Sergei Ivanov said on Thursday.
According to Ivanov, the public expects more efficiency and
professionalism from investigators in the fight against corruption
that plagues Russian society.
"I have to emphasize that we do not have untouchables," Ivanov said
at a meeting of Russia's Investigative Committee Board.
"We must act decisively and pay no regard to posts and ranks," he said.
Russia was ranked 133rd out of 174 countries in the latest Corruption
Perception Index by Transparency International, published in December.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in February that some 50,000
corruption cases are currently being investigated in Russia.
In the latest series of corruption exposes, companies controlled by the
Russian Defense Ministry are being probed on fraud charges that total
over 13 billion rubles ($433 million). The so-called Oboronservis case
led to the sacking of Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov last November.
According to Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika, damages from
corruption cost the state budget 21 billion rubles ($690 million)
last year alone.
In 2012, Russian authorities prosecuted 889 officials, including
244 city mayors and 114 lawmakers of various levels, and 1,159 law
enforcement officials on corruption charges.
President Vladimir Putin submitted a draft bill to the State Duma last
week prohibiting Russian officials from holding bank accounts abroad
or owning foreign-issued shares and bonds, while the presidential
anti-corruption council proposed additional sanctions against corrupt
state officials.
In addition, Russia plans to spend some 3.5 million rubles ($117,000)
on anti-corruption training for federal civil servants as part of
the fight against corruption.
From: Baghdasarian