Kremlin steps up battle against corruption

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ivanov promised state protection in exchange for reporting instances of corruption, the international media reported April 2.

“Apart from setting the deadline for dumping foreign assets, Ivanov promised police protection for public servants who report incidences of corruption,” Russian online news service RT wrote.

Ivanov underlined that the new law will exclude anonymous tip-offs. The announcement came as part of a broader initiative, launched by the Kremlin to stem capital outflow from Russia.

The Foreign Minister called a press conference to announce that the Kremlin will be reigning in all foreign accounts held by state employees, including those employed by large state enterprises such as oil and gas giants Rosneft and Gazprom.

“If someone has bank accounts abroad, we give them three months to get rid of them,” Ivanov told reporters, citing July 1, 2013 as the deadline.

The new bill, which is likely to be passed by the Kremlin imminently, does not, however, ban state officials from owning real estate abroad.

Putin stepped up the battle against corruption in Russia following a wave of scandals, which swept through the Kremlin in 2012, resulting in a number of high profile resignations.

Russian Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov resigned from office in November 2012, as an investigation into corrupt real-estate transactions was launched. A few days later Yuri Urlichich, head of Russia’s flagship global positioning system, was dismissed when a Ministry of Interior investigation discovered fraud in the project for at least RUB 6.5 bln [USD 200 mln].