The paper is devoted to a campaign by the Anti-Corruption Foundation and Alexei Navalny calling for Russia to ratify Article 20 of the UN Convention against Corruption and to introduce criminal liability for the illicit enrichment of officials. It explains the proposed mechanism: if a public official’s assets and spending substantially exceed their declared income, the official must prove the lawful origin of the funds or face possible prosecution; in support of the initiative, 100,000 signatures are being collected on the Russian Public Initiative website. The text cites examples of expensive property owned by Russian officials, data from an Anti-Corruption Foundation poll conducted on March 19–22, 2014, showing strong public support for such a measure, and references to foreign experience presented as evidence of the effectiveness of this kind of anti-corruption tool.
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ACF'S NEW ANTI-CORRUPTION INITIATIVE
TWENTY
20.navalny.com
Read on p. 3
Who owns the houses built with your money?
Photos © PhotoXpress, ITAR-TASS (Russian state news agency), Fotolmedia
HOW CAN OFFICIALS BE STOPPED FROM LYING AND STEALING?
#20
How the illicit enrichment law will work — p. 2
Fighting corruption, Hong Kong style — p. 3
What do Russians really think about officials' lifestyles? — p. 4
How to Defeat Corruption in Russia
ACF and Alexei Navalny support Russia's ratification of Article 20 of the UN Convention against Corruption and the introduction of the concept of “illicit enrichment” into the Criminal Code.
Corruption cannot be defeated by a single law alone, but passing it would be the first step toward eradicating the problem. According to a nationwide telephone survey, 90% of Russian citizens believe that officials in this country live more lavishly than they can afford. Seventy-four percent of Russians agree with the statement that “almost all officials live beyond their means.” Eighty-seven percent of respondents explicitly support criminal liability for illicit enrichment.
If the bill drafted by the Anti-Corruption Foundation is adopted, Russian officials who cannot explain where the money comes from to build huge dacha-palaces despite relatively modest incomes will face criminal prosecution.
Vladimir Yakunin's house in Akulinino outside Moscow, with a movie theater, swimming pool, and a fur storage room
#20 HOW THE ILLICIT ENRICHMENT LAW WILL WORK
If the total annual family income of an official or civil servant is 1.5 million rubles a year, but his income declaration lists a house worth 10 million rubles, he must explain the source of the remaining 8.5 million rubles. If the official provides documents proving that he earned the money legally, received it as an inheritance, or found buried treasure, the question of illicit enrichment is closed. If no such documents are provided, the 8.5 million ruble difference is deemed illicit enrichment, and the official is held criminally liable.
“Collecting signatures on ROI (the Russian Public Initiative website) is the first step in staking out our position and showing that this bill exists as part of our program on Article 20 of the UN Convention on illicit enrichment. We are mobilizing our core supporters; if we get 100,000 votes, then we know that at least a million people are definitely aware of the initiative.”
Alexei Navalny in an interview with the Slon website, published in October 2014
“We are already using the practice of posting draft laws on the internet. Anyone can submit a proposal or amendment. These are reviewed, and the best and most substantive ones are taken into account in the final version of the bill. This mechanism for collectively selecting optimal solutions, or as experts call it, crowdsourcing, should become the norm at all levels.”
Vladimir Putin in the article “Democracy and the Quality of Government,” published in February 2012
HOW CAN OFFICIALS BE MADE TO EXPLAIN THEIR INCOME?
A signature drive is now underway on the Russian Public Initiative website in support of Article 20 and the bill on illicit enrichment. A total of 100,000 signatures must be collected for the proposal to be considered by the government and the State Duma. Support the Anti-Corruption Foundation's initiative and vote for the bill's adoption on the Russian Public Initiative website.
You can vote at www.roi.ru/9376/
Details at 20.navalny.com
official, salary 2 million rubles a year
official's house, worth 100 million rubles
Article 20, “Illicit Enrichment”
criminal punishment
How Russian Officials Live
How much public officials in this country earn, what they own, and how they explain their income
Vyacheslav Volodin
Position: First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation.
Income: 14.071 million rubles in 2013.
What is cited: a dacha and a 2-hectare (20,000-square-meter) plot in the Moscow region. The property includes a huge mansion, two guest houses, an artificial pond, and a helipad. The land is estimated to be worth 90 million rubles.*
His explanation: Volodin says he earned the money by selling shares in two oil-and-fat processing plants for nearly 600 million rubles. According to the official, he had originally bought them for just 6 million rubles.
Vladimir Kozhin
Position: Aide to the President of the Russian Federation for military-technical cooperation.
Income: 13.407 million rubles in 2013.
What he is accused of having: a dacha on Rublyovka (an elite residential area outside Moscow) with a 7.7-hectare plot. The land is estimated to be worth 625 million rubles.
His explanation: according to documents provided by Kozhin, he purchased a 77,100-square-meter land plot in the Odintsovo district for 1,080,701 rubles — that is, 1,400 rubles per sotka (100 square meters).
Vladimir Yakunin
Position: President of Russian Railways.
Income: Yakunin refused to publish his 2013 income declaration.
What he is accused of having: a 14.8-hectare estate in Akulinino, outside Moscow, with guest and staff houses, a tennis court, and artificial ponds. The main house is equipped with a movie theater, a swimming pool, and a fur storage room.
His explanation: when asked why he refused to publish the declaration, Vladimir Yakunin replied, “Excuse me, but I do not want to be like the non-commissioned officer’s widow who flogged herself” (a reference to a famous satirical phrase by Gogol meaning someone absurdly punishing themselves).
Igor Shuvalov
Position: First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
Income: 2.7 billion rubles over 6 years (including his spouse’s income).
What he is accused of having: a house in Austria and a mansion outside Moscow.
His explanation: according to Shuvalov, he made the money by selling a 0.5% stake in Sibneft, which he had received in exchange for legal work. He did not provide documents confirming the transaction.
* according to an estimate by the Anti-Corruption Foundation, based on a comparison with prices for similar plots
International Experience in Fighting Corruption
Methods used in other countries to combat the illicit enrichment of public officials, and their position in the annual global corruption ranking compiled by Transparency International. In 2013, Russia ranked 127th out of 177 in this list.
Hong Kong (place in the global corruption ranking: 15 out of 177)
In Hong Kong, anti-corruption laws adopted in the 1970s introduced criminal liability for officials who cannot explain to a court why their standard of living and the value of their assets do not match their official income.
United States (place in the global corruption ranking: 19 out of 177)
In 1978, the United States adopted the Ethics in Government Act, under which officials in the legislative, executive, and judicial branches are required to file annual financial disclosure reports. Knowingly submitting false information is a criminal offense punishable by a fine and up to five years in prison.
France (place in the global corruption ranking: 22 out of 177)
In France, a criminal case against an official suspected of illicit enrichment is opened when there are grounds to believe that the person’s assets were obtained unlawfully. Such grounds may include tax return data, obvious outward signs such as lifestyle, and the acquisition of valuables whose cost does not match declared income.
Lithuania (place in the global corruption ranking: 43 out of 177)
In Lithuania, a new article was added to the criminal code in 2010 that effectively introduced punishment for illicit enrichment. Any citizen who possesses assets worth more than 500 minimum subsistence levels (about 65,000 litas, or $24,000), while knowing they could not have been acquired with lawful income, may face a large fine and up to 4 years in prison.
Argentina (place in the global corruption ranking: 106 out of 177)
In Argentina, a law adopted as early as 1964 made it a crime to possess “resources whose origin a public official cannot explain.” Those found guilty face up to six years in prison, a fine equal to the full value of the assets deemed unlawful, and a lifetime ban from public service.
ILLICIT ENRICHMENT BY PUBLIC OFFICIALS SHOULD BE A CRIMINAL OFFENSE
Russians Against Corruption
A nationwide survey by the Anti-Corruption Foundation conducted on March 19–22, 2014, using a random sample. A total of 1,000 residents of the country aged 18 and older took part.
87% of citizens support introducing criminal penalties for illicit enrichment
In your opinion, is the level of corruption in Russia today high or low?
High — 72%
Moderate — 15%
Low — 3%
Difficult to answer — 10%
Do you think corruption among government officials is currently an important issue for Russia?
One of the most pressing issues — 60%
Rather an important issue — 27%
Rather not an important issue — 3%
Not an important issue — 3%
Difficult to answer — 7%
Do you agree with the statement: "For the most part, government officials live a wealthier lifestyle than they can actually afford"?
Completely agree — 75%
Rather agree — 15%
Rather disagree — 2%
Disagree — 4%
Difficult to answer — 4%
Do you agree with the statement: "It is necessary to introduce criminal liability for those government officials who cannot explain the source of their income"?
Completely agree — 77%
Rather agree — 10%
Rather disagree — 2%
Disagree — 5%
Difficult to answer — 6%
#20
Stealing from the budget means stealing from your wallet. The money officials steal from you is turned into their dachas (country houses) and cars. For now, Russia has no real tools to monitor the spending of public servants.
Article 20 of the UN Convention against Corruption establishes this kind of oversight and introduces the concept of illicit enrichment. If an official's spending exceeds his or her income, that is grounds for opening a criminal case.
In Russia, Article 20 has been excluded from application, and we know how to fix that. Support the campaign to adopt Article 20 of the UN Convention against Corruption. Vote on the Russian Public Initiative website: https://www.roi.ru/9376/
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