MOSCOW, December 18 (RIA Novosti) – A lawmaker in Russia has proposed a draft bill to parliament to create an open list of people convicted on corruption charges in an attempt to change widespread tolerance of the problem in the graft-ridden nation.
Under the legislation proposed by A Just Russia party deputy Alexei Chepa, the “list of shame” would be drawn up by the Justice Ministry and made available for public scrutiny on its website.
“People have to stop accepting this as just something normal, and corrupt people need to be seen as such and become well known to all,” Chepa said, commenting on his proposed bill. “In an open society and with the development of the Internet, this is a completely feasible task.”
Chepa said prospective employers or voters could use an online list to check up on the integrity of their candidates.
Anyone convicted under three existing laws would be included on the register under the proposed rule, which would be formulated as an amendment to existing legislation, Chepa said.
The deterrent of ending up on the list would be enough to make possible offenders think again before taking kickbacks, he said.
Russia was rated 133 out of 178 countries by international watchdog Transparency International in 2012, and corruption remains endemic, despite a government-led campaign to wipe it out.
