15 Dec 2017 13:21

Over 1,000 corruption cases involving Russian officials recorded in 2017 - first deputy prosecutor general

MOSCOW. Dec 15 (Interfax) - Over 1,000 Russian officials in bodies of legislative and executive authority, including 150 federal-level officials, have been exposed of corruption crimes this year, Russian First Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Buksman said.

"The emphasis in the fight against corruption was on uncovering major [criminal] actions posing great danger to the public and having social significance. In the first nine months of this year alone, over 12,000 people who committed corruption crimes were identified. Among them are over 1,000 officials who held posts in bodies of legislative and executive authority, including 150 federal-level officials," Buksman said at a coordination meeting on preventing corruption in Moscow on Friday.

Law-enforcement agencies adhere to "the principle of unavoidable responsibility for corruption, regardless of the high posts of the officials who commit it."

Buksman gave as examples the criminal cases opened against former Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev, the governors of the Kirov and Chelyabinsk regions, the heads of Marii-El and Udmurtia, and high-ranking Interior Ministry and Investigative Committee officials.