On 15 July, the State Duma in Russia passed in the first reading amendments to the Criminal Code, making it easier to hold so-called foreign agents criminally liable.
According to the draft law, now a single administrative offence under the article on the order of activity of a “foreign agent” is sufficient for criminal liability. Now it is necessary to commit two administrative offences under this article in order to initiate criminal proceedings.
In the explanatory note, as RBC writes, it is said that the current procedure for bringing “foreign agents” to criminal responsibility “does not fully ensure the security of social relations”. According to the Ministry of Justice, about 40 per cent of the foreign agents included in the register do not comply with legal restrictions. This is usually the lack of labelling of the so-called “foreign agent” or failure to submit the necessary reports.
There are already more than a thousand entries in the register of “foreign agents”, several hundred of those included in it are individuals. Non-compliance with the restrictions is punishable by administrative and criminal liability.