On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented to the State Duma, the lower house of the Moscow parliament, a draft law on the country’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe’s Criminal Convention on Corruption and withdrawal from the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO). ), reports EFE.

The corresponding document aimed at Russia’s withdrawal from the convention signed in January 1999 was included in the drafts of the lower house of the Russian legislature.

In the appendices to the bill, Putin justified his proposal by the decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) on Russia’s withdrawal from GRECO membership, which oversees the implementation of the agreement.

“According to this decision, Russia loses the status of a GRECO member country, except for cases where GRECO monitors the fulfillment of the obligations undertaken by our state, but Russia loses the right to participate in debates or approve reports, as well as the right to vote,” Putin said. .

The draft law states that this is an unacceptable situation for Russia, therefore it is proposed to withdraw from the Criminal Convention on Corruption and withdraw from GRECO.

Moscow announced that it will leave the Council of Europe in March 2022, after 26 years of participation, as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and after the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe activated Article 8 of its statute on the exclusion of Russia, reminds EFE.

According to the Corruption Perceptions Index published by the non-governmental organization Transparency International, Russia ranks 136 out of 180 with 29 points on a scale from 0 (absolutely corrupt) to 100 (absolutely not corrupt). (Agerpress)