Russia Warns Against Direct Investigative Requests from 'Unfriendly' States

MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry is concerned about instances in which law enforcement officials from unfriendly states directly send investigative requests to Russian legal entities, bypassing competent authorities, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Journalists asked Zakharova to comment on reports that law enforcement officials from unfriendly countries had sent such requests directly to Russian legal entities to obtain information about people they suspected of committing criminal offenses.

"We note such cases with concern. I would remind you that in 2022, almost all Western countries unilaterally halted cooperation with Russia in providing mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. Now they are trying to bypass competent Russian authorities, violating established procedures and bilateral and multilateral obligations. In other words, they are behaving as though they were at home," she said.

Zakharova reminded former partners that such unauthorized activity on Russian territory is subject to criminal penalties. She noted that the Russian Criminal Code was supplemented in 2025 with Article 294.1, "Illegal conduct of investigative and other procedural actions and operational-search activities on the territory of the Russian Federation," specifically to counter attempts to unlawfully obtain information. The article provides for fines of 500,000 to 2 million rubles (roughly $6,000 to $24,000) or imprisonment for up to five years.

According to the diplomat, the amendments were also needed to prevent unfriendly countries from interfering in Russia's internal affairs and to disrupt schemes whereby Western intelligence services had, in effect, lured Russian nationals abroad in order to detain them.

"We recommend that accredited diplomatic missions of unfriendly states carefully review the relevant explanatory material and bring this information to the attention of their national law enforcement agencies," the spokeswoman said.