Anti-corruption and compliance

Relevant legislation

Prior to 2008, there was very little anti-corruption legislation in Russia. However, in 2008, the first National Anti-corruption Plan was announced. As part of that Plan, Federal Law No. 273-FZ “On Fighting Corruption” was enacted on 25 December 2008 (the “Anti-corruption Law”) (as amended and supplemented). This law remains the principal legislative act on bribery in Russia. However, the relevant legislation is by no means consolidated and relevant provisions are found in a number of legal acts.

Russian law in this area is also affected by international treaties.

The current legislation on corruption now includes:

• International legislation:
  — United Nations Convention against Corruption dated 2003 (ratified by Russia in 2006);
  — Criminal Law Convention on Corruption No. 173 by the Council of Europe (ratified by Russia in 2007); and
  — OECD Convention on Combating the Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions dated 1997 (ratified by Russia in 2012).
• Federal legislation directly addressing corruption:
  — the Anti-corruption Law;
  — Federal Law No. 230-FZ “On Monitoring the Correlation of Expenses by State Officials with their Incomes” dated 3 December 2012;
  — Federal Law No. 79-FZ “On the Prohibition for Certain Categories of Individuals to Open and Have Accounts, Keep Moneys and Assets in Foreign Bank Accounts outside the Russian Federation, Own and/or Use Foreign Financial Instruments” dated 7 May 2013;
  — Federal Law No. 172-FZ “On Anti-corruption Examination of Regulative Acts” dated 17 July 2009;
  — Law No. 2202-1 “On Public Prosecution” dated 17 January 1992;
  — Federal Law No. 79-FZ “On Public Civil Service” dated 27 July 2004 (the “Public Civil Service Law”);
  — Federal Law No. 262-FZ “On Access to Information on Court Activities in the Russian Federation” dated 22 December 2008;
  — the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation dated 13 June 1996 (the “Criminal Code”); and
  — the Code on Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation dated 31 December 2001 (the “Code on Administrative Offences”).
• Federal legislation indirectly addressing corruption, such as:
  — Federal Law No. 3-FZ “On Police” dated 7 February 2011;
  — tax law (please see the Disclosure rules section); and
  — Federal Law No. 44-FZ “On the Contractual System in the Sphere of the Procurement of Goods, Works or Services for State and Municipal Needs” dated 5 April 2013 (the “Public Procurement Law”) – (please see the Example of sector-specific anti-corruption measures section).
• Decrees of the President, the Federal Government and other executive bodies, specifically:
  — establishing the National Anti-corruption Plan (includes a list of steps and measures to be taken with a view to fighting corruption); and
  — regulating the anti-corruption examination of the acts of governmental bodies.

However, the legislation is still quite fragmentary and sometimes confusing.

In addition to Russian law, laws of other states may be applicable to situations in Russia. The United Kingdom Bribery Act of 2010 and the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, have a wide extraterritorial reach.

State agencies

Apart from the general law enforcement authorities (the police, public prosecution, etc.), several state agencies are responsible for enforcing federal anti-corruption measures, such as the President’s Council on Counteracting Corruption (as a supervising body) and the Ministry of Justice (responsible in particular for the anti-corruption screening of draft legal acts). 

The General Prosecutor’s Office has a range of authorities to counteract corruption, including:

• initiating administrative proceedings and carrying out administrative investigations; 
• participating in court proceedings on corruption crimes; 
• coordinating investigation authorities in anti-corruption matters; and
• monitoring enforcement of anti-corruption legislation. 

Special parliamentary committees have also been established to monitor the income and assets of the members of parliament.