Foreign assets are taken out of the mystery

The State Duma on Wednesday unanimously approved in the first reading a bill on additional grounds for refusing access to state secrets. Among them is the presence of an official and his relatives of foreign assets. No one spoke out against the new norms, the communists were only indignant that they had not been adopted earlier and that many secret bearers managed to go abroad. The authors of the amendments promised that as soon as the “flywheel of law enforcement” starts working, there will be fewer such cases.

Amendments to the laws on state secrets and on the procedure for leaving the Russian Federation and entering the Russian Federation were introduced to the Duma in March by members of the security committee headed by its chairman Vasily Piskarev (United Russia). They proposed to include among the grounds for refusing access to classified information the fact that an official or his close relatives has foreign real estate, accounts and deposits in foreign banks, as well as foreign financial instruments. Refusal of admission, in turn, may be a reason for the dismissal of an official if his work involves working with state secrets. With regard to the deputy heads of federal ministries and departments (except for power ones), as well as Rosatom and Roskosmos, such a decision will be made by the interdepartmental commission for the protection of state secrets. The draft also introduces a closed list of humanitarian circumstances under which citizens who are restricted in their right to travel abroad due to access to classified information will be able to temporarily leave the Russian Federation. This is the death of close relatives, the need for emergency treatment or receiving an inheritance abroad.

“In 2022 alone, more than 2,000 secret bearers were brought to administrative and disciplinary responsibility, 234 were deprived of access to state secrets, and 196 people were fired,” Vasily Piskarev justified the need to adopt the bill in his Telegram channel. He also recalled the entry into force in July 2022 of Art. 283.2 of the Criminal Code (violation of requirements for the protection of state secrets), after which “more than 30 secret carriers were brought to criminal responsibility for illegal travel abroad.” And Anatoly Vyborny (ER), who presented the amendments to the deputies, added that the initiative “is due to the challenges and threats that we face, especially in the context of a special military operation, fanatical sanctions pressure from the so-called collective West and the insane activation of foreign intelligence services.”

Deputy Mikhail Matveev (KPRF) asked if the bill was “overdue”, citing “publications in the Western media” that foreign intelligence services receive our secret information “almost in real time”, including about the plans of the Ministry of Defense. The Communist wanted to know if it was possible to somehow technically block the transmission of classified information. “It should have been adopted earlier, but in connection with the special operation we see how the situation has escalated,” agreed Mr. Vyborny, and suggested returning to technical issues when preparing amendments for the second reading.

“If the wife of the head of the municipality inherited a house in Belarus, do you consider this sufficient reason to terminate his conscientious service?” Viktor Smirnov (ER) was worried. Mr. Vyborny assured that this “is not an unconditional basis for refusing access to state secrets,” since the norms “are not imperative”: “When making a decision, a whole block of issues will be taken into account. Here is the so-called combat path of a person, and the powers, where exactly the property is located abroad, and so on. In addition, the decision to deny admission can be challenged in a higher organization or court, the speaker added.

The communists were also worried about cases when secret bearers managed to go abroad. “We have ten prime ministers and deputy prime ministers who are abroad – in the USA, Israel, Great Britain, etc. They all had access to state secrets,” Viktor Sobolev was indignant. And in relation to these people, too, it is necessary to take some measures.” “How did former officials who previously ruled Russia, worked in state corporations, had access to state secrets, ended up abroad, why weren’t they subject to a travel ban? Is this initiative able to stop the generation of the next Chubais, Dvorkovichs, Kasyanovs?” Vyacheslav Markhaev supported his faction comrade.

Anatoly Vyborny, in response, promised “powerful prevention”: “There will be no such thing when the flywheel of law enforcement of the legislation on state secrets starts working.” “But even now there are officials whose children and wives live abroad. How did the FSB and other special services allow this? – Nikolai Kolomeitsev (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) did not give up. “I fully share your concern,” United Russia assured and again promised that after the adoption of the law, “such a story will become a thing of the past.”

Another co-author of the bill, Ernest Valeev (ER), in his closing remarks recalled that the current law on state secrets was adopted 30 years ago: “At that time, Russia acted out of the conviction that once the confrontation with the West had disappeared, all the activities of state bodies should be transparent.” The deputies unanimously agreed with the fact that now completely different times have come: 389 votes were cast for the adoption of the amendments in the first reading, there were no votes against and abstentions.

Ksenia Veretennikova