Speaking about the measure at his state of the union address, Putin promised to ensure legal protection for Russian citizens choosing to tranfer funds back to the country from foreign banks andregister their foreign property in accordance with Russian law.
The measure, first proposed by members of the Federation Council on Nov. 5, means Russians wishing to legalize assets stashed abroad will face no questions as long as they do it between Jan. 1 and Jun. 20, 2015.
Putin said, “I am convinced that we need to completely shut down and turn the page from offshore in the history of our economy and our country."Officials hope that the measure willreverse the trend of capital flight from Russia, which is estimated at more than US$ 100 billion in the last year alone.
Last week, Putin also proposed to lower fines related to what he refers to as minor corruption offences. Under newlegislation, the maximum fine for bribery would be 1 million rubles (US$21,540). According to the Kremlin website, the amendment to the law would replace heavier fines – which often went unpaid – with alternative penalties such as correctional labor and a three year ban on holding office.
