Eastern Europe Banking & Deposits: Russia – Duma to consider legal amendments to bar top officials and heads of public agencies from holding bank accounts abroad

On 30 January the news service Izvestia reported that three Duma deputies belonging to the United Russia party (Единая Россия) had proposed amendments to a bill being considered by the Duma. As written, the bill would have outlawed the holding of foreign bank accounts by government officials, military officials, and personnel of law enforcement agencies, but the new amendments would extend the ban to the heads of state corporations, the Bank of Russia, the Accounts Chamber, and public pension funds, as well as to judges. Other amendments under consideration would also prohibit the children of officials from studying abroad, and would specificy in which foreign countries officials will be permitted to own property.

The United Russia party, headed by Dmitry Medvedev, currently holds 238 out of 450 seats in the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly, and put forward Vladimir Putin as its candidate for prime minister in the most recent election. The United Russia deputies who introduced the proposed amendments were Igor Igoshin (elected from Vladimir Oblast), Nadezhda Shkolkina (Rep. of Mordovia), and Nadezhda Shaidenko (Tula Oblast).