Federation Council has no more senators with foreign assets – Matviyenko

Valentina Matviyenko file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 19, 2013) The Russian Federation Council has no more senators with foreign accounts and assets, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said.

“Members of the Federation Council have complied with the demands of the federal law banning certain categories of citizens to have foreign accounts and assets. The limitations imposed by the law apply to senators as well as other categories of citizens. There were three months to make a choice. Senators who possess accounts or assets in foreign banks have shown in their declarations everything the law requires,” the Federation Council press office quoted Matviyenko as saying.

Several senators chose to resign early and the rest, who had the same choice, preferred to refuse the services of foreign banks and completed all necessary procedures in time, Matviyenko said. “As we see, the chamber members have shown respect for the law and readiness to comply with it and not to look for ways to circumvent it,” she said.

The Federation Council has unanimously supported the law banning state officials from having foreign bank accounts and assets, Matviyenko said. And such an approach to forming state institutions is in line with society’s demand for transparency and control of society over authorities, she said. “Our parliamentarians should show the example of patriotism and the law sets them up for this. The funds should be kept at Russian, not foreign banks so that they work for the Russian economy,” she said.

As of yet, there have been no appeals saying that this or that senator does not comply with the law banning officials from having foreign bank accounts and assets, Matviyenko said.

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