Russian companies implicated in bribing officials fined nearly 800 mln rubles - state prosecutors
MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) - The Russian state will receive about 800 million rubles in fines paid by Russian companies implicated in subornation or bribery, First Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Buksman said.
"In the first nine months of this year alone, prosecutors initiated over 400 administrative cases under the article concerning liability of legal entities for promising, offering, and delivering unlawful rewards on behalf of or in the interests of organizations. The overall total of fines imposed exceeded 786 million rubles," Buksman told Interfax on Wednesday.
The maximum sanction is a fine 100 times greater than the value of the property or monetized services unlawfully transferred, provided, promised, or offered on behalf of a legal entity, but not less than 100 million rubles, plus the confiscation of the bribe itself, he said.
"An analysis of our practice shows that this is quite an effective tool. Moreover, the negative effects for a legal entity go beyond financial liability," he said.
In line with the UN Convention against Corruption, Russian law envisages another sanction: a legal entity that has been held administratively liable for the relevant offense cannot submit bids in tenders for two years.
"This is a significant restriction, especially considering that the Russian Prosecutor General's Office posts a register of legal entities held administratively liable for corruption online," Buksman said.