A Communist Party lawmaker has submitted a draft bill to the State Duma that would require Russian officials to report the incomes of their former spouses, in an attempt to prevent divorces enacted to conceal real incomes, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Tuesday.
State Duma deputy and chief lawyer for the Communist Party (KPRF) Vadim Solovyov submitted the draft bill to counteract “fake divorces.”
Existing anti-corruption legislation requires deputies, senators and other officials to report their income and assets by April 1, 2017, RIA Novosti reported. Officials at various levels, including the president, will also have to provide information regarding the possessions of their spouses and children.
“In fact, the bill would act as an amendment to the anti-corruption law,” Solovyov said. “Under the bill, those who continue living together after a divorce must still be considered spouses,” he added, RIA Novosti reported.
According to statistics cited by Solovyov, there has been a significant increase in the divorce rate among State Duma deputies. More than 100 State Duma deputies have divorced over the past 2 1/2 years since the adoption of the anti-corruption law.
“There were no objective prerequisites that could have affected the marital status of my colleagues except for the anti-corruption law,” Solovyov said.
Russian officials “should not look for loopholes, but should set an example of respecting the law,” the deputy said, RIA Novosti reported.
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