Russia Ends Public Financial Disclosure for Officials
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russia’s lower-house State Duma on Thursday passed a package of bills exempting government officials from filing annual public financial declarations, a move lawmakers said would modernize oversight.
New financial Monitoring System: Poseidon
Under the legislation,financial monitoring of officials and their close relatives will instead be carried out through a closed state information system known as poseidon. This system tracks income, assets, and property in real time and is integrated with other government databases, including those of the Federal Tax Service and the financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring.
“this will… also facilitate prompt responses to corruption-related offenses,” said Vasily Piskaryov, a lawmaker from the ruling United Russia party, describing the shift as a move away from an “outdated system.”
Access to Poseidon
Direct access to Poseidon will be limited to authorized government bodies such as the Presidential Administration and the federal Protective Service.
Officials will still be required to submit financial declarations when taking up a new post, transferring between agencies, or making purchases that exceed their family’s combined income over the previous three years, according to the bill’s text.
The changes are set to take effect on jan.1 if approved by the upper-house Federation Council and signed by President Vladimir Putin.
Legislative Process and Criticism
The legislation was introduced by deputies from all State Duma factions just 10 days before Thursday’s vote, though members of the Communist Party criticized the proposal during debate.
Suspension of Disclosure During Ukraine War
In December 2022, President Putin suspended the mandatory publication of officials’ financial declarations for the duration of the war in Ukraine. Soon afterward, disclosures, including those filed before Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, began disappearing from official websites.
Background: Anti-Corruption Framework
Before that decree, Russian law had required civil servants to publicly disclose their income and assets, as well as those of immediate family members, under an anti-corruption framework introduced in 2008.
Published: 2025/12/18 21:06:59
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