Medvedev comments on proposed way to fight corruption

SKOLKOVO, near Moscow. Dec 13 (Interfax) – Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has poured cold water on a proposal for starting a crackdown on corruption in Russia by choosing one of the government’s activities, such as issuing passports, and making it completely transparent.

The proposal came from a speaker at the “Open Government” conference in Skolkovo on Thursday.

“I believe that one can make any field of government corrupt if one wants to. It should be realized that, if an official has made up his mind to make money from his duties, he will find a way of doing so,” Medvedev said.

“It is primarily a human problem, a problem of legislation and the inevitability of prosecution,” he said. “Even if in ten instances out of a hundred an official realizes that he will be caught, the other 90% won’t do anything – it’s absolutely obvious, it’s a global law.” Medvedev added that that is an anti-corruption method in various countries.

“It doesn’t mean that a mass-scale reign of terror must be declared, but it must become a practice and not a lot of discussion,” he said.