MOSCOW, August 1 - RAPSI. Lawmakers of all four factions have submitted a draft law to the State Duma prohibiting all state officials (including the president) from owning property abroad and opening accounts with foreign banks, Deputy Valery Trapeznikov, one of the law's proponents, told RIA Novosti.

He said that the ban will affect spouses as well. However, there are some exclusions. For instance, if an official or his/her family members need to undergo medical treatment abroad, as long as an official medical opinion supports this, they will be allowed to open an account to pay for their living and receive treatment in a foreign country.

Trapeznikov said that if a state official inherits a house or an apartment abroad, he will have to refuse it within the course of a year or sell it and transfer the money to a Russian bank.

"If a draft law is adopted during the State Duma's autumn session, it will come into effect in 2013," the MP said.

He said that the draft law stipulates the penalty for violating the law as a fine to the value of 5 million rubles ($155,065) or an imprisonment term of up to five years.