Why Russia's Patriots Love to Buy U.S. Real Estate

Imagine a newspaper exposé about several members of the U.S. Congress who didn't declare on their tax forms luxury villas on the Iranian Persian Gulf coast. This would be a scandal of Watergate proportions and most likely produce a couple of best-sellers and a made-for-TV movie. Now imagine an analogous situation in Russia. What happens? Almost nothing. There is no scandal, no movie, only a lot of talk on the Internet.

The story began when a group of Russian senators went to the U.S. last summer to persuade their U.S. counterparts to vote against the Magnitsky Act. One of the most vocal opponents of the act was Senator Vitaly Malkin, who said Magnitsky had died in prison from consequences of alcoholism. The senators' "anti-Magnitsky road show" in Washington raised suspicions that their actions not only were not just political but also that their personal interests might have been threatened by the act's ban on visas and asset holdings for some Russian officials.

Journalist Andrei Malgin decided to get to the bottom of the mystery. Using just his computer and the Internet, he dug up some very interesting facts. It turned out that Malkin has real estate in North America. Furthermore, since 1994 he has been trying to get a residence permit in Canada, justifying his request by his business interests. In his application, he openly declared that he owns 111 — yes, 111 — apartments in Toronto. The Canadian authorities turned down his request, and Malkin even tried to take them to court. Unfortunately for him, the court refused to hear his suit.

All this raises a question that opposition leader Boris Nemtsov tried to answer on his Facebook page. "There's one thing I just don't get about these people. Many of them have real estate in the U.S. Many send their children there to go to school. So why are they always ranting hateful stuff about the U.S.? So no one guesses that their real dream is to stroll along Fifth Avenue?"

Read more: Why Russia's Patriots Love to Buy U.S. Real Estate | Opinion | The Moscow Times

Russia: President Putin Submits Bill Banning Officials From Holding Foreign Assets

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday submitted a bill to the State Duma that seeks to ban government officials from holding overseas bank accounts or owning foreign-issued bonds and shares.

The legislation, part of a raft of measures proposed by the president that ostensibly target corruption and foreign influence in Russia, appeared to be a softened version of a bill passed in a first reading by the Duma last year stipulating fines or jail time for officials who do not give up certain foreign assets.
Putin’s bill would apply to federal and regional officials, senior prosecutors, board members at the Central Bank and employees at state corporations, according to a copy of the legislation published on the Duma’s official website.

Diplomats and other officials serving abroad would be entitled to keep overseas assets, but officials’ spouses and children, in whose names accounts and assets are often registered to bypass declaration rules, would be included in the ban.

According to the text of the bill, officials must close their foreign accounts and sell any foreign assets within three months of the legislation coming into force. Officials who fail to comply would be fired.

Pro-Kremlin lawmakers backed the move Tuesday as a cornerstone of the government’s anti-corruption strategy, while others linked the bill with efforts to shield Russia from foreign interference.

“Putin is gradually realizing his stated aim of tackling corruption, achieving the deoffshoreization of the economy, instilling responsible behavior in the national elite and preventing dishonest lobbying,” said Irina Yarovaya, head of the State Duma’s Security and Anti-Corruption Committee.

Read more: Putin Submits Bill Banning Officials From Holding Foreign Assets | News | The Moscow Times