MOSCOW, June 4 (RAPSI) – Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on Monday a bill introducing a new position of ombudsman for protection of financial services’ consumers into law. The document’s version was published on the official website of legal information.

The State Duma passed the bill on May 24, the Federation Council approved it on May 30.

The initiative’s authors believe that the document would establish an efficient system of pre-trial mediation between consumers and providers of financial services.

According to the law, the ombudsman is to be appointed by the Central Bank’s board for a 5-year term. The commissioner is to review applications against financial organizations filed by Russian citizens, where the disputed amount of money does not exceed 500,000 rubles ($8,100). In addition, the commissioner is to review cases related to violation of insurance procedures. All cases are to be reviewed for free and may be filed in a digital format.