Corruption Crimes Rate In Russia Declines – Russian Supreme Court

(RIA Novosti – February 19, 2013)

The number of convicts charged with corruption of all sorts is constantly declining, RIA Novosti news agency reported on 19 February, quoting the head of the Russian Supreme Court, Vyacheslav Lebedev.

According to Lebedev’s data, a total of 10,000 people were charged with corruption in 2010, 7,500 people – in 2011, while in 2012 the numbers have dropped to 5,500 people.

“At the same time, the punishment practices for bribery have changed in connection with the amendments to the law, in particular, by adding fines exceeding the initial bribe multiple times,” Lebedev noted, adding that the number of fines in cases like these has risen dramatically from 12 to 70 per cent, while 60 per cent of defendants were given a suspended sentence.

Health care, education and penal service remain the spheres with the highest corruption rates.

Lebedev has also noted that 300,000 people were charged with committing crimes against property, and 2,000 entrepreneurs were sentenced to jail terms.

However, according to him, courts treated the figures of the corruption cases in a quite liberal way, and 42 per cent got away with a suspended sentence.