Russian chief prosecutor says corruption threatens national security
(Interfax – May 17, 2013) Corruption in Russia is a threat to national security, and cooperation with international organizations must be stepped up to fight it, Russian Prosecutor-General Yuriy Chayka said on 17 May. He was speaking at a meeting with a delegation from the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) in Moscow, as reported by Russian privately owned Interfax news agency on the same day.
“Indeed corruption threatens our national security, and so all efforts have been deployed to fight this evil,” Chayka was quoted as saying.
Chayka said that the Russian state “attaches great significance to cooperation with GRECO”.
“The most important thing is that President Vladimir Putin also highly appreciates such cooperation,” he said. He said “the leadership of the Russian Federation has the political will to bolster the fight against corruption”.
In the fight against corruption the “capabilities of not only the law-enforcement agencies, but also those of civil society, are used”, Chayka said. “In this issue we also rely on the experience of our colleagues abroad, among other things,” he added.
Chayka said that, based on the recommendation of GRECO experts who monitor Russian legislation and law-enforcement practice in the sphere of fighting corruption, the Russian Federation had adopted a whole range of legislative measures limiting the possibilities for abuses from state officials.
Since December last year there have been two rounds of monitoring of the fight against corruption in Russia, and it is planned that the results of the third round will be summed up in September, he said.
“As a result of adopting measures to implement GRECO’s recommendations, countering corruption has become more effective, which has been reflected in positive assessments of the work being done from international experts and organizations,” Chayka added.
“Opinion polls also convince (us) that an increasing number of Russian citizens note the higher level of countermeasures against corruption in Russia,” he said.