The source said President Vladimir Putin had signed a decree Thursday to hand over customs functions, including the customs service, from the Economic Development and Trade Ministry to the government to relieve the ministry of excessive and irrelevant work.
"The purpose is to free up Gref's ministry so that it can concentrate on the major fundamental objectives the president set in his state of the nation address to parliament," the source said.
Putin instructed the government to draft and implement major investment programs and reorient the economy toward innovation during his seventh annual address to parliament on Wednesday.
The source added that the move was an effort to demonstrate that Putin trusted Gref and did not associate the current problems in the service with him.
A government source said law-enforcement services had launched a thorough inquiry into alleged serious offenses in the customs service, and had caught several customs officers red-handed.
"The ministry started an investigation into legal offenses connected to meat quotas, and obtained materials illustrating the violations," the source said. "The ministry duly passed over the materials to law-enforcement agencies, which continued the investigation."
The government source also said the transfer of the customs service to the prime minister's control amounted to "a revision of the administrative reform."
"Chronic problems have been exposed in the customs service," the source said, adding that the prime minister's experience in foreign economic affairs would enable him to solve the problems.
