In Russia they want to prohibit foreign agents from earning money – a bill has been submitted to the State Duma

In Russia they want to prohibit foreign agents from earning money – a bill has been submitted to the State Duma

The threats of the Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin against foreign agents were embodied in a bill submitted to parliament. Foreign agents will be prohibited from receiving income from creative activities and real estate – it will be credited to special accounts, from which it will be impossible to withdraw money.

  • The initiative is personally promoted by speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. Photo: Scanpix
“Today we will introduce the bill that we discussed with you earlier,” writes Speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament Vyacheslav Volodin, explaining that he means a ban on foreign agents making profit.

The document should introduce “a special procedure regarding remunerations and other payments due to foreign agents from the use of the results of intellectual activity and brands.” Foreign agents will be required to open a special ruble account, into which all such income will be credited. If a foreign agent does not open a special account on his own, then the one who transfers the fees to him will be obliged to do so, Volodin clarified.

Foreign agents will be able to manage the money in the special account only after this status is removed from them. But they may never see their money – by court decision, these funds may be credited to the budget.

Income from real estate – sale or rental – has not yet been included in the document. They plan to add them later. “For the second reading, we plan to prepare additional rules regarding the transfer of funds to a special account from the sale of movable and immovable property, its rental and other income,” writes Volodin.

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There are so many people now recognized as foreign agents.

Most of them live outside of Russia, but receive royalties, Volodin is indignant.

There are a thousand times more relocants for whom the bill is still being prepared. According to various estimates, since February 2022, from 500 thousand to 1.3 million people have left Russia. According to the European University Institute in Florence, 15% of those who left returned to Russia. According to Finion, there are more of them – 40%.

Those of them who do not support the Putin regime will face similar restrictions. “We are also working on measures for them to stop enriching themselves from movable and immovable property located on the territory of our country, as well as from its sale,” Volodin previously reported. “In other words, living on money from renting an apartment in Russia and watering your homeland with slop will be problematic,” – commented Deputy Alexander Khinshtein.

Foreign agents are already facing difficulties. So, at the end of October, the lead singer of the group “Nogu Svolo!” Maxim Pokrovsky filed a lawsuit against Alfa Bank, which did not give him royalties from the Russian Authors’ Society (RAO) from a special account. Artists who spoke out against the war are no longer paid royalties.

Source: www.dv.ee