NOVO-OGARYOVO, March 5 - RAPSI. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered the government to develop proposals to establish criminal responsibility for state-run company managers who withhold or submit false information about their business activities.

"We should follow the example of the best world practices. For instance, we could adopt a law stipulating criminal responsibility for the failure to submit information or the distortion of information," he said at the meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin on Monday.

Putin instructed Sechin to develop proposals to introduce for consideration in the State Duma.

Sechin, in turn, reported that auditors uncovered over 200 incidents when public company managers concealed or distorted information about their involvement in commercial activities.

According to the prime minister, the threat of being prosecuted for illegal business activities or attempts to circumvent supervising authorities will prevent managers from breaking the law.

Sechin said the government has already started to develop proposals based on the experience of the United States, Finland, France and the UK, among other countries.