Some articles of the Administrative Offences Code of the Russian Federation related to giving/getting a bribe have been amended

The amendments introduced to the Administrative Offences Code of the Russian Federation aim at the enhancing of the state control over combating corruption and bribery.

The Federal Law has established a new type of a bribe taker - an officer of a public international organisation.

Pursuant to the amendments introduced, nowadays the punishment for bribe depends upon its size. The bribes are ranked as follows:

• ordinary (up to 25,000 rubles);
• sizeable (from 25,000 to 150,000 rubles);
• large (from 150,000 to 1,000,000 rubles);
• especially large (exceeding 1,000,000 rubles)  

It is determined that now penalties may also be imposed as an alternative to imprisonment (but only as an additional measure).

An independent component of crime has been introduced - mediation in bribery.

An administrative liability is being introduced for illegal remunerating of foreign officer. Legal entities will be fined for such action.

There was created an institute of legal aid on the matters related to administrative offences focusing on the investigation of corruption made by Russian companies aboard. It is assumed that if legal proceedings stipulated for in the Administrative Offences Code of the Russian Federation are required to be carried out in a foreign country, an officer who carries out administrative proceedings shall file a legal aid request with the relevant officer or authority of the foreign country in compliance with the international treaty of the Russian Federation or on a reciprocation basis which is assumed unless proved otherwise.

It is assumed that a legal aid request shall be filed through the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the Higher Arbitrazh Court of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Federal Security Service, the Federal Service for the Control of Drug Trafficking, the body authorised by virtue of the international treaty of the Russian Federation and the General Prosecutor's office of the Russian Federation.

Furthermore, the minimum amount of penalty was increased from 2,000 to 5,000 rubles.

The amendments are effective from 17 May 2011.

See: Federal Law "On Amendment of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Administrative Offences Code of the Russian Federation in Connection with Enhancing of the State Control over Combating Corruption" No. 97-FZ of 4 May 2011.