Experts: implementation of control over the expenses of state officials is an efficient measure

Moscow, December 22 – RIA Novosti. The experts, when inquired by “PRIME” agency, say that implementation of control over the expenses of state officials, which the President mentioned during his speech in front of the Federal Assembly, will be a timely and efficient measure of countering corruption.

President Medvedev, delivering his yearly speech at the Federal Assembly on Thursday, has reiterated the dedication of the authorities of the Russian Federation to the consistent and all-encompassing fight against corruption. In particular, he suggested examining the issue to expand the list of persons whose income was to be obligatorily declared. He also said that it was necessary to check the state officials’ expenses, when these obviously failed to correspond to their declared income.

Implementation of this provision together with the multiplier fines, dismissal for the reason of the loss of confidence at committing corruption crimes as set out in the legislation, and other measures already taken, is, in essence, the realization of the ideas of the UN Convention against Corruption, reminds Valery Mironov, Deputy Director of the Research Institute “Development Center” of the State University – Higher School of Economics.

This document has not been fully ratified by the Russian Federation, for it is in a certain contradiction with the principle of presumption of innocence. Mr. Mironov observed: “The control requirement, so as the state officials’ expenses did not exceed their income, is stipulated there (in the Convention). If one lives in a luxurious mansion while having a small salary, nowadays he does not have to explain himself, while afterwards (if the Convention enters into force) one will have to justify it – inherited, purchased with income of the business done earlier, and the like”.

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Alexey Popov, Advocate, Partner at the Firm, declares that not only control over the expenses of state officials is required, but also control over the expenses of top managers of organizations financed from the budgets of different levels.

He believes that not only purchases of real estate and cars should be controlled, but also those of luxury items, bars of precious metals and other similar instruments of investments or savings. The Advocate said: “It is essential that foreign operations be included in the list of controlled expenses, for it is obvious that the larger share of the state officials’ “investments” goes to those”.

Mr. Popov said: “The today’s initiative by the President may only be considered the first step towards creation of all-encompassing and efficient anticorruption system. Someone will certainly be frightened and discouraged from committing a deed of corruption by the implementation of such control, but, lamentably, not everyone will be”. He added that, in order to increase the efficiency of such system, a special anticorruption authority with the rights of an independent special service should be created under the President of the Russian Federation and confiscation of the property acquired by the person as the result of corruption activity should be implemented.

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