National Anti-Corruption Plan

The key objective of the document is to coordinate efforts to combat corruption in Russia. The National Anti-Corruption Plan is a framework document for the implementation of intra-agency anti-corruption plans. All branches of the federal and regional authorities , public organizations and the media have been appointed executors of the National Plan. Specific anti-corruption objectives are reflected in the list of measures proposed by the current National Plan.

Applicant protection measures

The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation is instructed to strengthen supervision over the observance of the legislation of the Russian Federation on the protection of persons reporting facts of corruption from prosecution and infringement of their rights and legitimate interests. The Government and the Presidium of the Anti-Corruption Council are entrusted with the task of developing a bill to protect applicants about corruption from possible illegal actions. The plan also provides for interdisciplinary research on the organization and tactics of protecting individuals reporting corruption. Applicant protection measures are not available in previous versions of the plan.

Conflict of Interest Measures

Starting from the first National Plan adopted in 2008, measures to resolve conflicts of interest are one of the key areas of the document. In the current version, the Government of the Russian Federation has been instructed to take measures to prevent a conflict of interest between employees and employees of state corporations (companies) and organizations created to support the activities of federal state bodies. Plenipotentiary representatives of the President of the Russian Federation in the federal districts are instructed to ensure that state and municipal employees comply with the restrictions and prohibitions, requirements for preventing or regulating conflicts of interest.

Transparency Measures

• The current version of the plan provides for the creation of a single database of declarations of income, expenses and property of officials - in particular, computer programs for monitoring and automated analysis of declarations of civil servants on the basis of special software “Help BC” and “Help GS” . Also, the plan has an instruction to organize monitoring of a message by certain categories of officials about receiving a gift, its delivery, evaluation and crediting of the proceeds from its implementation to the income of the corresponding budget.
• "The media professionals and representatives of other professions related to ensuring the public interest " in the Plan is recommended to "develop a procedure for publicizing the income and expenses of members of these associations whose activities are of public interest" and post this information on websites.
• The plan prescribes the development by the Government of the Russian Federation together with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation of a mechanism for obtaining information on the availability of cash accounts and (or) other assets from Russian officials in foreign banks at foreign credit and financial institutions. According to the National Plan, for the implementation of such a mechanism it is supposed to conclude agreements on the exchange of information with the competent authorities of foreign states. Together with the Central Bank and the relevant committees of the State Duma , the Government should also make proposals on ways to remove the uncertainties of the concepts of "foreign financial instruments" and "trust management of property, which involves investing in foreign financial instruments."

Anti-corruption education measures

The current plan provides for fairly extensive measures for general and professional anti-corruption education. On the basis of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration , specialized seminars will be held for teachers of educational institutions implementing educational programs on anti-corruption topics.

The bachelor's degree programs in the specialty “State and Municipal Administration” should include the “Anti-Corruption” curriculum. Also, the Government of the Russian Federation and the presidium of the Presidential Council on Combating Corruption will need to provide centralized training for federal civil servants whose job responsibilities include participating in the fight against corruption.

Non-governmental organizations and political parties are encouraged to continue work on creating intolerance in society of corrupt behavior.

It is recommended that the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs , the all-Russian public organization Delovaya Rossiya and Opora Rossii, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation develop and implement a set of measures in the implementation of international commercial transactions, implement the tasks of introducing anti-corruption measures in these organizations and conduct anti-corruption classes topics with leaders and employees of organizations.

Measures to Improve Anti-Corruption Effectiveness

The Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation has been appointed the official research institute on the fight against corruption. On the basis of the research institution, scientific interdisciplinary research will be conducted on various theoretical aspects of corruption offenses based on the legislation of the Russian Federation and the practice of its application.

Measures to develop lobbying legislation

Lobbyism is one of the key points of the Plan throughout the entire period of its existence. In the National Plan for 2008-2009. The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation has been instructed to submit to the Presidium of the Presidential Council of the Russian Federation on Combating Corruption a proposal on the advisability of forming an lobbying institution in the Russian Federation by October 1, 2010. In the current National Plan, the Government of the Russian Federation is instructed to “make proposals on the creation of a normative legal basis for the activities of citizens and organizations to promote the interests of a social group or individual in state and municipal bodies with a view to making the most favorable decision (lobbyism) for this social group or individual, including preparation proposals for the normative assignment to the relevant federal executive body of the function of developing and implementing measures for consistent the introduction of lobbying into practice and the corresponding personnel strengthening of this area of ​​work. ”

Expert Opinion

The 2016-2017 National Anti-Corruption Plan was praised by the relevant committee of the State Duma . In particular, the head of the Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption of the State Duma of the Russian Federation I.A. Spring , noting that the National Plan is the implementation of the RF National Security Strategy approved by the President of the Russian Federation at the end of 2015, where corruption is defined as the main obstacle to the sustainable development of Russia.

Another point of view is expressed by the chairman of the National Anti-Corruption Committee, Kirill Kabanov: “Today we have already faced the fact that many leaders either do not understand or do not read the national plan. At the expert council, I will talk about stringent requirements to strengthen control measures. It is necessary to prepare the leaders of the regions for the fact that they should write specific plans, and not formal, intra-departmental, regional, municipal plans. Further, we must continue to work, including on anti-corruption expertise, bring it into line with the requirements, and make the anti-corruption expertise of legislative acts quite understandable. I’ll also talk about the need to study implementation practices, especially the application of the national plan. The declaration of anti-corruption measures was introduced, but the initiative is quite difficult to implement, so you need to prepare, and not introduce many measures quickly enough and thoughtlessly ” ^[3] .

Criticism

Some researchers have noted a violation of the principle of separation of powers, i.e. the presence of direct instructions to executive authorities and the courts. They express concern about the lack of clarification of the reasons for the fact that reports prepared by the Council of Judges and the Supreme Court should be submitted to the Presidential Administration . Thus, there is a risk that these activities will be perceived as advisory and non-binding.

In addition, in 2016, unlike previous years, the “National Anti-Corruption Plan 2016-2017” did not contain information and measures aimed at protecting the complainants about corruption. Prior to this, the Ministry of Labor, by February 2015, developed a draft law “On the Protection of Persons Reporting Corruption Violations from Prosecution and Infringement of Their Rights and Legal Interests”. However, the 2016 plan does not propose any further steps towards protecting the complainant about corruption, which increases the risks of exacerbating the current situation.

The 2016-2017 National Anti-Corruption Plan does not provide a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the completeness of the implementation of its provisions, which may reduce its effectiveness as a whole.

The current “National Anti-Corruption Plan 2018–2020” has been implemented for the first time for three years. This document again focuses on the issue of conflict of interest, expanding the circle of people and control mechanisms, emphasizing the importance of solving this particular form of corruption.

Plan follow-up

Monitoring the implementation of the activities described in the National Anti-Corruption Plan 2018-2020 is entrusted to a specially created working group, the report of which should be reviewed every year. The Presidential Council for Combating Corruption takes responsibility for the creation of the working group.

Improving anti-corruption standards

The legislative activity on anti-corruption legislation, according to the National Plan, should be carried out by the Cabinet of Ministers, which must submit draft federal laws to the State Duma of the Russian Federation by November 1, 2018. These regulations should apply to state and municipal workers and contain some prohibitions, restrictions and requirements established in order to combat corruption.

The main objective of these projects is to improve anti-corruption standards for state and municipal officials, as well as for individuals “holding positions in state corporations (companies), state extra-budgetary funds and public law companies, organizations created to fulfill the tasks assigned to federal state bodies” .

Bills created by the Cabinet of Ministers should include the improvement of liability measures against officials “for non-compliance with prohibitions, restrictions and requirements established in order to combat corruption”. Separately, President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin emphasized the need to also improve the procedure for receiving gifts for certain categories of state and municipal workers.

Until February 1, 2019, as the President of the Russian Federation noted, the Cabinet of Ministers needs to introduce another din package of amendments to existing legislation. In particular, it seems necessary to determine “cases where non-compliance with prohibitions, restrictions and requirements established in order to combat corruption due to force majeure circumstances” will not have legal consequences. The Cabinet of Ministers must develop criteria by which non-compliance with anti-corruption prohibitions, restrictions and requirements will be considered minor corruption offenses that entail dismissal from service. Initiatives are also expected to help identify circumstances that “mitigate or aggravate liability for non-compliance with prohibitions, restrictions and requirements, and to take such circumstances into account when enforcing the penalty.”

Bringing Deputies to Account

A feature of the current National Plan is the recommendation of the head of state to the Federal Assembly . It is assumed that before December 1, 2018, the parliament should develop a legal mechanism to establish and consolidate the procedure for holding members of both chambers, the Federation Council and the State Duma accountable for failure to take measures to prevent and resolve conflicts of interest, as well as other requirements of the anti-corruption legislation of the Russian Federation.

The document provides for the involvement of members of the Supreme Court in participating in the fight against corruption: they need to “prepare proposals for improving the procedure for preventing and resolving conflicts of interest that arise when judges exercise their powers”. Especially with the participation of citizens and legal entities with which members of the court or the judge himself, his close relatives or other close persons are bound by financial or other obligations.

The President of the Russian Federation intends to personally receive reports from the General Prosecutor's Office on the results of inspections of compliance with the requirements of the legislation on the prevention of conflicts of interest and other anti-corruption measures.

The head of state sent a recommendation to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection within a month to prepare methodological recommendations on holding employees accountable for not taking measures to prevent and (or) resolve a conflict of interest. In addition, the Ministry of Labor, together with the General Prosecutor's Office, should prepare a semi-annual review of the practice of applying anti-corruption legislation to prevent conflicts of interest and disseminate it “among interested federal state bodies and organizations”.

Prevention of Conflict of Interests of Civil Servants

The Government of the Russian Federation, in accordance with the National Anti-Corruption Plan, should take additional measures to prevent corruption of officials. Until October 1, 2018, the Government, together with the Prosecutor General and the Supreme Court, are obliged to consider the problem of the need for additional measures in the field of legislation that can prevent and resolve the conflict of interests taken by persons filling state and municipal posts.

In turn, the Cabinet of Ministers and the General Prosecutor's Office have the duty to develop a solution to the issue of imposing administrative responsibility for violating the requirements of the anti-corruption legislation of the Russian Federation related to the prevention and resolution of conflicts of interest . The government should “prepare proposals for the submission to the questionnaire, to be submitted by persons applying for the posts of state civil or municipal service, of changes regarding the indication in it of information about the spouses of their brothers and sisters and about brothers and sisters of their spouses, in order to identify a possible conflict interests. "

In addition, the Government should regularly monitor the implementation of measures to prevent or resolve a conflict of interest.

Strengthening control over the property of civil servants

The current plan confirms the need to develop proposals to expand the list of property of officials, subject to withdrawal to the state budget, if there is evidence that its purchase was made illegally or in a manner contrary to anti-corruption legislation in the Russian Federation.

The head of state obliges the Prosecutor General’s Office together with the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Court to prepare a bill by November this year, which will establish control over the expenses of persons suspected or accused of committing crimes containing corruption grounds, as well as specific measures to transfer the seized property to the state.

Grant Support for Organizations

The current document contains measures to address corrupt behavior in educational and research work. For example, the right to material support for organizations that have distinguished themselves by the most successful measures for anti-corruption education of citizens, popularization of the fight against corruption and scientific coverage of the problem of anti-corruption measures. In addition, the Ministry of Justice and other relevant departments should monitor the activities of NPOs , "whose charters provide for participation in the fight against corruption, and analyze the relevance of their activities to their stated goals."

The Ministry of Culture has the duty to popularize the fight against corruption, in particular, to attract "the most competent specialists in the field of advertising, the media and public relations to qualitatively increase the effectiveness of social advertising, which contributes to the formation in society of rejection of all forms of corruption." They are also entrusted with the development of new means of influencing the population in order to form a negative attitude to corruption and the consequences associated with it. A work report is expected by December 1, 2018.

Public Hearing

National Anti-Corruption Plan 2018-2020 contains a proposal on the possibility of making public hearings during state procurements in the amount of 50 million rubles and municipal procurement of 5 million rubles mandatory.

The Head of State instructs the Government of the Russian Federation , and specifically to the Cabinet of Ministers, to develop a report by February 1, 2019 containing information on the feasibility of mandatory public hearings relating to “procurement of goods, work, services to meet state or municipal needs, if the initial (minimum ) the contract price is 50 million rubles and 5 million rubles, respectively. ”

In addition, the document expresses the need for September 1, 2019 to address the issue of the advisability of introducing a ban on the execution of state and municipal contracts of subcontractors controlled by officials, "as well as their spouses, close relatives and other close people" responsible for these contracts.

According to the plan, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation may be empowered to maintain a register of companies prosecuted under Article 19.28 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Illegal Remuneration on behalf of a Legal Entity) with the placement of this data in a single public procurement information system.

With regard to public procurement, additional requirements are established for customers and contractors, which are designed to eliminate the risk of corruption crimes and conflicts of interest. It is also intended to tighten control over the activities of state and municipal employees responsible for carrying out "in order to exclude unjustified application of penalties (fines, penalties) to suppliers (contractors, performers)".

Despite the availability of modern anti-corruption techniques outlined in the National Anti-Corruption Plan, experts note the absence of real levers of influence on corruption and the nominal fulfillment by most federal executive bodies of the requirements contained in the document. Thus, they highlight the following weaknesses of the National Anti-Corruption Plan:

• · Documents were prepared without taking into account the specifics of corruption behavior practices and the risks of each individual industry;
• · Many points of the plan do not contain information on specific anti-corruption measures, decision makers and deadlines;
• · Some parts of the plan provide only general methodological approaches to solving the problem;
• · Most of the documents do not provide a description of the specific end results, as well as the relationship of the proposed activities to these results.

Thus, a formal approach to solving the problem of the spread of corruption in Russia is noted, the lack of a serious approach and desire on the part of the drafters of the Plan and its implementers, the lack of real monitoring of the implementation of the plan's points and, accordingly, a qualitative improvement in the situation in the country. The population’s demand for solving the problem of corruption, as well as Russia's preservation of the country's position as an ineffective anti-corruption country, which is evident from international ratings, continues to remain high ^[4] .

For example, the National Plan provided for the assignment of responsibility to the heads of federal executive bodies by July 1, 2014 to submit their proposals for monitoring the implementation of the plan's items, as well as specific measures to achieve the objectives of the project.

The most effective from the point of view of experts are anti-corruption plans developed by Rosfinmonitoring , the Ministry of Economic Development and the Federal Antimonopoly Service , the most untrained are road maps of the Federal Migration Service , the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Financial and Budget Supervision Service .

As a result of monitoring the work of state and municipal authorities, conducted by a working group led by the chairman of the National Anti-Corruption Committee, Kirill Kabanov, it was found that only 39 out of 63 federal authorities published orders to approve anti-corruption plans on their websites, and even those were actually written off from the model anti-corruption plan without taking into account the specific risks inherent in a particular agency. The anti-corruption measures planned there are not tied to specific dates, their executors are not defined, personal responsibility of officials for their non-fulfillment is not provided. In general, the actions are half-hearted, not affecting the root causes of the emergence and rooting of corruption in the country.

• National Anti-Corruption Plan 2016-2017
• National Anti-Corruption Plan 2014-2015
• National Anti-Corruption Plan 2012-2013
• National Anti-Corruption Plan 2010-2011
• National Anti-Corruption Plan 2008-2009

• Corruption
• Corruption in Russia
• Presidential Council on Combating Corruption
• National Anti-Corruption Council of the Russian Federation
• Declaration of income and property of public officials

• Anti-corruption strengthened