MOSCOW, September 1 (RAPSI) - State Duma lawmaker Andrei Krutov (A Just Russia) has filed a request with the Prosecutor General's Office seeking to investigate the financial activities of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) to ensure compliance to the Russian law and to register the organisation as a foreign agent, Izvestia reported on Monday.
Despite the fact that the organisation’s name bears the word “charity,” it is not even listed as the organization’s activity in the documents which were filed with the Federal Tax Service, Krutov claims.
Over the past year, RMHC has increased its assets by 150%, while it pays significantly less in taxes in Russia, according to the lawmaker.
The social and charity contributions of RMHC have decreased almost ten times and amounted to only 163,000 rubles (about $4,400), while the organization spent around 30 million rubles (over $800,000) on different activities, the lawmaker says.
RMHC is not reoprtedly registered with the Ministry of Justice as a foreign agent in accordance with the federal law, under which politically active non-profit organizations in Russia that receive financial support from abroad are classified as “foreign agents” and are entered into a designated registry. They are required to submit special reports and aer be subject to discretionary audits.
Last month, sanitary inspections of McDonald’s restaurants began across Russia, where the fast-food chain has over 430 restaurants in 75 regions.
According to the company’s press service, 12 restaurants have been suspended over sanitary violations, including three restaurants in Moscow and two in the former Olympic host city of Sochi.