MOSCOW, June 22 (RAPSI) – Russian government has approved bills introducing administrative and criminal penalties for knowingly falsifying expert opinions in the field of public procurement, the official statement of the government reads.
Authors of the bills note that falsification of these opinions leads to other, more grave crimes, such as embezzlement or endangering people, if, for example, the procured products are medical ones.
According to the bills, the criminal liability comes into force if the damage caused by falsified expert opinion exceeds 2.25 million rubles ($35,600) or if it leads to grave injuries or deaths of one or more persons.
In addition, officials are to be fined 30,000-50,000 rubles ($474-$791) or to be disqualified for up to 6 months in case of such violations while legal entities may be fined up to 150,000 rubles ($2,373).
In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed law toughening punishment for violations in the field of procurement for state and municipal needs.
The bill in particular envisages criminal liability for provocation of commercial bribery in the sphere of procurement.
According to the legislative initiative, violation of Russian legislation regulating procurement of goods and services committed by persons who are not officials or managers will result in criminal liability if the action caused large damage. In this case a person responsible is to pay a fine of up to 200,000 rubles ($3,500) and may be imprisoned for up to three years. If a crime caused a major damage or was committed by a group of people, it would result in punishment of up to seven years in prison.
In addition, commercial bribery of employees of a contract service, contract managers, chiefs of procurement commissions, persons receiving procured goods and services as well as persons representing the client may result in a prison term of up to 12 years. The bill also specifies reasons that list grounds for release of persons who transferred unlawful remuneration to specified persons from criminal liability.
