Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will on Thursday hold a meeting of the presidential Anti-Corruption Council.
The Berlin-based non-governmental anti-corruption organization Transparency International has persistently rated Russia one of the most corrupt nations in the world. In the 2010 Corruption Perception Index, Russia was ranked 154th of 178, below countries like Kenya, Laos and Papua New Guinea.
Medvedev, who announced the fight against corruption as a priority for him on the post of the country's leader, admitted in 2010 that the anti-corruption drive had so far yielded few practical results.
In July 2010, Medvedev signed five laws on the work of Russia's police but said new legislation was still needed as part of ongoing reforms aimed, in particular, at eradicating corruption in law enforcement bodies, whose conduct has become a great concern after a number of high-profile police scandals.
Konstantin Chuichenko, head of the presidential financial oversight administration, said in late 2010 that corruption costs Russia the equivalent of 2.9% of its GDP every year, with kickbacks in state procurement programs alone accounting for 1 trillion rubles ($33 billion).
MOSCOW, January 13 (RIA Novosti)
