Russian Prosecutor General Reports Over 60,000 Corruption Convictions in Five Years

MINSK, September 17. /TASS/. Russian Prosecutor General Alexander Gutsan says more than 60,000 officials have been convicted of corruption-related offenses in Russia over the past five years, while the value of property seized from defendants in such cases has exceeded 800 billion rubles ($9.5 bln).

"The principled approach taken by prosecutors has become one of the key factors behind the increase in the number of officials convicted of corruption. Over the past five years, courts have sentenced more than 60,000 people convicted of corruption-related offenses to various forms of punishment based on the position of public prosecutors," Gutsan said at the 11th meeting of the Interstate Council on Combating Corruption in Minsk.

According to him the amount of damages recovered in these cases has increased by almost 50%, while the value of property seized from defendants is over 800 billion rubles.

The Russian prosecutor general added that cryptocurrency was being used more and more in these corruption-related crimes, although its seizure had previously presented difficulties.

"These difficulties were overcome through a federal law adopted in February this year with our active participation. It established the status of digital currency in criminal law, as well as procedures for its seizure and confiscation, and required crypto exchanges and exchangers to provide the necessary information at the request of investigative authorities and courts," Gutsan told

He noted that the adoption of the law "closed loopholes that allowed criminals to hide illicit assets in digital wallets while in many cases remaining unpunished."