Amendments to anti-corruption legislation were introduced in Russia

One of the key innovations of the law is the establishment of the obligation of top officials (heads of the highest executive authorities) of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation to verify the accuracy and completeness of the submitted information on income, expenses, property and property obligations:

persons holding elected municipal positions (heads of local administration, deputies, members of an elected body of local government, elected officials of local government);
heads of local administration under contract (so-called "city managers");
candidates for these positions.

The income declarations of persons holding these positions must be posted on the official websites of local self-government bodies and made available for publication to the mass media.

If violations of the law are revealed in the course of an inspection, the head of the subject shall submit a proposal for early termination of the duties of the official in question to the relevant local government body or to the court.

The need to introduce such norms was dictated by the current difficulties in exercising control by regional authorities over the adoption by municipalities of measures to combat corruption violations and the application of sanctions for non-compliance with anti-corruption legislation. At the same time, the final decision to terminate the powers of a person whose income information has been found to be inaccurate or incomplete is made not by the highest official of the constituent entity, but by the court, which ensures compliance with the established rules of the law.

At the same time, granting regions the authority to collect and verify information on the income of persons holding local government positions in all municipalities within the constituent entity will significantly increase the burden on regional departments for the prevention of corruption offenses, which, in turn, may require an increase in their staffing levels, as well as possible adjustments to their work procedures.

The law also obliges to submit information on income and expenditures of persons entering higher education organizations under the jurisdiction of security agencies, while exempting from such obligation persons entering military service under conscription.

In addition, the adopted normative legal act amends the prohibitions related to participation in the management of non-commercial organizations by additionally permitting:

military servicemen and employees of internal affairs bodies to participate on a gratuitous basis in the management of public-state organizations engaged in the development of military-applied and service-applied sports;
persons holding state and municipal positions to participate in the management of the council of municipal entities of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, other associations of municipal entities, in the management of a political party, in a congress (conference) or general meeting of another public organization;
state civil and municipal servants to participate in the management of a political party, in the congress (conference) or general meeting of another public organization, as well as, with the permission of the employer's representative, to participate on a gratuitous basis in the management as the sole executive body of a public organization, housing, housing-building, garage cooperatives, horticultural, gardening, gardening, dacha, consumer cooperatives, real estate owners' associations, or to be a member of their collegiate members.

At the same time, the law excludes trade unions from the list of organizations in the management of which state and municipal employees and persons holding state and municipal posts are allowed to participate.

The normative legal act also provides for the establishment in Federal Law No. 273-FZ of December 25, 2008 "On Combating Corruption" of a list of persons subject to the obligation to take measures to prevent and resolve conflicts of interest, which includes:

state and municipal employees:
Employees of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, employees of state corporations, public law companies, state funds, other organizations established by the Russian Federation on the basis of federal laws;
employees of organizations subordinate to federal state bodies included in the relevant lists.

Federal Law No. 285-FZ of October 5, 2015 introduced a single definition of a conflict of interest, which established the concept of "a position, the occupation of which provides for the obligation to take measures to prevent and resolve a conflict of interest" without disclosing its content. The amendments introduced by the Law are aimed at maintaining a unified interpretation of this concept by law enforcers.