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| Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev chairs a meeting of the presidential Anti-Corruption Council at the Kremlin in Moscow January 13, 2011. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) |
MOSCOW, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Russian authorities have failed to cope with widespread corruption, President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday during a meeting of the Anti-Corruption Council.
Medvedev, who chaired the meeting, admitted that the situation was "sad and dangerous," after the head of Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, said that 34 percent of all corruption crimes in 2010 were committed by law enforcement officials.
"The law enforcement system is affected by corruption no less than the state officials are," Medvedev said, "We created anti-corruption laws but they failed to reach their objectives."
Medvedev also expressed concerned over the scale of illegal schemes in the banking sector, saying that he had discussed the matter at a recent meeting with the head of the Central Bank.
"The Central Bank has uncovered massive machinations connected with illegal asset stripping at a host of commercial banks. It creates an atmosphere that illegal actions in the banking sector go unpunished," Medvedev said.
Medvedev ordered the Federal Tax Service to detect any false income declarations filed by state officials.
He said that officials who knowingly understate their income must be held responsible.
"I am giving three months for this (reviewing government officials' income declarations) so that by the end of the income declaration campaign, we know exactly who has violated what," he said.
