Russia mulls tougher punishment for corrupt officials

2026-03-03 - 14:33

Graft poses a “strategic threat” to the country’s economy and stability, Investigative Committee head Aleksandr Bastrykin has said Russian Investigative Committee head Aleksandr Bastrykin has suggested a total asset confiscation for officials convicted of corruption. Russia has intensified the fight against graft in recent years, launching a number of high-profile cases. Speaking at a meeting of the Investigative Committee Collegium on Tuesday, Bastrykin said: “I suppose the time has come to introduce as a criminal punishment for corrupt officials the total confiscation of all property accrued.” He stated that high-level graft could only be reined in with “tough, decisive measures.” Russian society has long expected such tough measures, the Investigative Committee head said, adding that it would also help to fill the country’s coffers. Within the context of the ongoing military campaign against Ukraine and major government projects, corruption “becomes a particularly acute threat of strategic nature,” according to Bastrykin. He argued that graft “directly undermines the country’s economy, stability and public trust in government.” Read more Senior investigators jailed in Russia in high-profile corruption case According to the Investigative Committee, there was a spike in the number of corruption-related criminal cases in Russia in 2025, with 14,200 reaching court. In total, 308 lawmakers at various levels, as well as municipal heads, were charged with such crimes, as were dozens of officials in prosecutor’s offices and investigators. Several high-ranking military officials were also arrested on corruption charges last year, in the wake of a major reshuffle at Russia’s Defense Ministry. Under current Russian law, confiscation can be applied to those convicted of certain types of crime; however, the state can only impound property that was used in the commission of crime or was accrued from the act, as well as assets intended for financing terrorist and extremist activities. Last July, Colonel General Viktor Strigunov, who served as the first deputy chief of the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardiya) between 2020 and 2023, was arrested on suspicion of embezzlement and corruption. According to investigators, his criminal activities “resulted in a loss of more than 2 billion rubles ($25 million) to the state” in a single episode. Strigunov reportedly faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a hefty fine if found guilty. Also last year, the Moscow City Court sentenced a former deputy defense minister, Timur Ivanov, to 13 years behind bars and a massive fine for embezzling state funds.