Media outlets repeatedly failing to provide info on their financing to face fines up to 4 times received amounts - draft legislation
MOSCOW. Jan 31 (Interfax) - Starting next year, media outlets will be ordered to pay fines in Russia if they hide any information on their financing, and such fines may be as big as four times the amount of money the media received.
The fines are envisaged by a new draft of the Administrative Offences Code published on a website dedicated to public evaluation of statutory acts by the Russian Justice Ministry.
In particular, Article 33.6 (failure by the editorial office of a media outlet, a broadcaster, or a publisher to timely provide information about funds received, which must be disclosed under Russian laws on media) introduces liability in the form of a fine ranging from between 30,000 to 50,000 rubles for officials and from between two to four times the amount of received funds for editorial offices, broadcasters, and publishers.
Any such offence committed repeatedly will be punished with fines from between 60,000 to 80,000 rubles for officials and from between three to four times the amount of money received by an editorial office, etc., for such legal entities.
On Thursday, the Justice Ministry published draft legislation titled "On Enacting of the Administrative Offences Code of the Russian Federation and the Procedural Administrative Offences Code of the Russian Federation." The new codes are planned to take effect on January 1, 2021.