Russian Deposit Insurance Agency urges onslaught on illegal bankruptcies
MOSCOW. Dec 15 (Interfax) - Russia's Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) has proposed setting up a financial crimes unit at one of Russia's two top criminal investigation bodies to prevent illegitimate outflow of capital from banks and other financial institutions.
Audits of 220 banks and three pension funds have shown that more than 80% of bankruptcies are caused by "non-market factors, namely the withdrawal of assets from financial organizations and the improper formalization of commitments," the DIA said in a statement on Monday.
"The DIA reports to law enforcement each instance of deliberate bankruptcy or large-scale damage. By December 1, 2014, 296 reports had been filed on instances of punishable acts on the part of the former owners or chief executives of financial organizations that were going into liquidation, with total damages exceeding 350 billion rubles," the DIA said.
"Reports from the Agency and Bank of Russia have become the basis for 177 criminal cases," it said. "Since 2004, 30 sentences have been passed on 33 former owners, chief executives and employees of financial organizations."
"The Agency considers it necessary to tighten state measures to find out and prevent illegitimate transfers of Russian assets to foreign jurisdictions by banks, their owners or chief executives, to claim back such assets and to prosecute persons who are to blame for large-scale damage to financial organizations and for bringing them to bankruptcy," the statement said.
"Setting up a specialist division for the investigation of financial crimes, including the transfer of assets abroad, in the structure of the Investigative Department of the Russian Ministry of the Interior or the Russian Investigative Committee could become one such measure," it said.