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On 11 February, a draft law introduced by a group of State Duma deputies was published on the electronic portal of the Russian parliament. This document provides for the possibility of transferring criminal cases of Russian citizens living abroad to foreign law enforcement agencies.
The draft law was initiated by Irina Yarova and Vasily Piskaryov, chairman of the Security Committee, both from the United Russia party. They propose to amend Article 458 of the Russian Criminal Procedure Code, which currently regulates the process of transferring criminal cases against foreigners who have committed crimes in Russia and left the country.
The proposed amendments include the removal of references to citizenship and place of commission of the crime from this article, which will allow the Russian authorities to demand that foreign states prosecute Russians who, in Russia’s opinion, have committed crimes on its territory. Vasily Piskaryov noted that the new measures will apply to terrorists, saboteurs, bribe-takers and people who have stolen public funds and left the country.
Critics of the draft law emphasise that many Western countries often refuse to extradite suspects to Russia on political grounds. Russian lawyers have expressed doubts about the application of the new amendment, as actions that are considered criminal in Russia may not be considered so in other countries.
This is the second attempt to introduce such a bill; the first was withdrawn from consideration after government criticism in August 2024, RIA Novosti reported.
