MOSCOW, February 16 (RAPSI) – Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers Igor Lebedev, Yaroslav Nilov, Andrei Svintsov proposed amendments to legislation to prohibit the companies owned by government officials and their relatives from participating in tenders for state contracts, Izvestia newspaper reported on Monday.

The bill would include companies in which founders or members of governing bodies are government officials or were members of local legislatures or held official positions for five years in the region where the tender is to be held, the newspaper writes.

The companies where the founder or chief executive is the customer, as well as companies held by officials’ close relatives, will not be eligible to participate in these tenders either.

Yaroslav Nilov said that these amendments would increase the durance between business and politics, which Chief of the Presidential Staff Sergei Ivanov encouraged when he said that about 99 percent of auctions are based on corrupt “grey” schemes. Those who have insider information are more likely to win the tender, and they never miss this opportunity, the MP said.

In January 2015, Sergei Ivanov said that products under state contracts should not be bought from companies affiliated with government agencies, including companies owned by the officials’ relatives, friends or acquaintances.