MOSCOW, December 7 - RAPSI. President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a law extending the bailiffs' rights in searching for debtors. The law allows bailiffs to detain debtors escaping justice or investigation, to surrender them to the police, or to employ private detectives to search for debtors, the Kremlin reported on Wednesday.

Amendments to some Legislative Acts were adopted by the State Duma on November 23 and endorsed by the Federation Council on November 29.

Earlier, the Interior Ministry was empowered to search for debtors. However, the new police law has deprived them of these authorities. In September, the president issued a decree to charge the Federal Bailiffs Service with searching for corporate debtors and the property of individual and corporate debtors.