Russian president signs anti-corruption law

Russian president signs anti-corruption law

2011-05-05 01:25:30 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOSCOW (BNO NEWS) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday signed a new law that introduces larger fines for bribery and commercial corruption, the Kremlin said.

The bill, approved by Russia's parliament earlier this month, raised fines, which vary between a minimum of 25,000 rubles ($916) and a maximum of 500 million rubles ($18.3 million).

"It makes it possible to impose penalties other than imprisonment on guilty persons, while at the same time being severe enough to make people guilty of committing or aiding bribery realize that the state can impose penalties that not only affect their personal freedom but also their property," Medvedev said in a meeting with Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika.

The new law also introduces large administrative fines for legal entities if they are found to be guilty of administrative offenses.

"I hope this will prove a useful innovation for our country and help us to fight corruption, which is still a very serious and widespread problem in Russia," the president added.  

Last year, an opinion poll said that over half of Russians (53%) think corruption has increased in their country during the last three years. In the 2010 Corruption Perception Index, Russia was ranked 154th of 178, below countries like Kenya, Laos and Papua New Guinea.

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