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1. Bring your money back home
Russian MPs may ban officials from owning quite a large range of foreign financial instruments in a patriotic move to bring capital back home.
According to the bill’s author, Andrey Klishas, a member of the Federation Council, high-level state officials and members of their family would not be allowed to own foreign stocks, bills, mortgages, bonds, take part in mutual funds or hold other financial instruments, including derivatives.
A similar ban was imposed a year ago, but Klishas says there’s a need to specify the category of the ‘foreign financial instrument’ present in the language of the original law.
2. Second citizenship could cost you dearly
On Wednesday, the Russian parliament approved the bill on dual citizenship. According to the draft law, citizens shall notify the local office of the Federal Migration Service of their foreign citizenship after a month since they were granted it.
Those Russian citizens who already have a second citizenship, must report to the local office of the Federal Migration Service within three months.
A violation of the law would be punished with a fine worth 200,000 roubles or up to an annual income of the accused, or compulsory labor for up to 400 hours.
The bill will be significantly amended before it is submitted for second reading, though.
3. Desperately looking for foreign agents
The State Duma committee on social associations and religious organizations has given the green light to a bill imposing additional checks on NGOs. The draft law aims to help the state identify those organizations that operate as ‘foreign agents’ and coerce them to register as such.
It appears that the previous initiative introducing the concept of a ‘foreign agent’ was not effective enough. Only one organization volunteered to register with the Justice Ministry under such a label.
According to liberal democrat Yaroslav Nilov, there are many more NGOs that are sponsored from abroad and that engage in political activity but boycott the legislation and prefer to fight it off by engaging in years-long court proceedings.
Author: Mikhail Vesely
