Illicit Enrichment in Pictures

We live in a beautiful and wealthy country.

Russia is the largest country in the world, and in

Russia is home to the longest railway,

and St. Petersburg has more bridges

than Venice. And the Moscow Metro

is considered the most beautiful. It was we who

were first to go into space, and it is here that

the strongest spiritual values are found. And our

president governs the country so well

that we are ready to elect him again and again.

Russia possesses an enormous amount of mineral

resources. But why is it that the wealth of our

country goes, how should I put it, not

to everyone? Let’s try

to figure it out. Take an ordinary official.

He earns 1 million rubles a year. But here is

his country house, which he built

for 100 million rubles. How did he manage that?

Maybe he found buried treasure or caught

a magic goldfish, or maybe he won the lottery (Sportloto, a Soviet/Russian state lottery).

Or perhaps he has a wealthy mother-in-law. Or maybe he

simply takes bribes. The official knows the answer

but has the right to remain silent. And you do not have

the right to ask: where did he get such

funds? However, there is a way to get an answer.

Article 20 of the UN Convention

against Corruption establishes oversight

over officials’ spending and introduces the concept

of illicit enrichment. If an official’s expenses

significantly exceed his

income and he cannot explain where he got

the money, that alone is enough

to open a criminal case. Make sure

that this bill becomes law. To do that,

100,000 votes need to be collected.

Now you can vote on

the official government website.

Vote and join the fight against

corruption. Make officials

explain their

spending.