MOSCOW, June 10 (RAPSI) - Russian officials face fines of up to 500,000 rubles (over $9,000) for real estate transactions in violation of law in accordance with the latest legislation amendments, reads a statement published Wednesday on the Russian government's official website.

The recently passed amendments will include provisions that will regulate liability for real estate transaction violations at various levels and introduce liability for those involved in real estate transactions, cadastral engineers and officials at registration agencies.

On January 28, 2015, the State Duma passed a federal bill that introduced criminal liability for cadastral engineers for the intentional inclusion of false data in a landmark plan, a certificate of land plot boundaries or property map, or inspection reports.

According to the amendments, officials who are abusing their authority and are responsible for the registration of known unlawful real property deals, the intentional distortion of data in the State Immovable Property Cadastre, and the lowering of the cadastral value of a property will be fined between 200,000 and 500,000 rubles ($3,700 to $9,100).

A public official could be fined by an amount equal to his or her salary or other income over a period of one to three years, or could be deprived of the right to hold certain public offices or perform certain activities for up to three years, or could be sentenced to both 360 hours of community service and a ban on holding certain offices or perform certain activities for up to three years.