Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday signed a package of anti-corruption laws and instructed law enforcement bodies to implement them efficiently.
"I have just signed the entire package of laws to counter corruption," Medvedev said at a meeting with Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov.
"I would like the FSB to cooperate with other law enforcement agencies in ensuring the implementation of these laws. They are not simple and must be attentively studied by investigative bodies for their subsequent effective application," he was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.
Medvedev, who pledged to curb corruption as he was sworn in as Russian president in May, submitted the bill to the lower house of the parliament early October. The legislature approved the bill in its third and final reading last Friday.
The laws require politicians and state officials to make a public declaration of their income, property and assets and that of their spouse and children. Officials are also supposed to report all incidents involving actual or possible corrupt activity.
In a survey of senior business executives published early December by the German-based Transparency International, Russian companies were considered the most likely to engage in bribery abroad.
(Xinhua News Agency December 26, 2008)
