Russia bans Transparency International

The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has declared Transparency International, a Berlin-based anti-corruption NGO, “undesirable” in the country, the agency reported.

The undesirable status bans organisations from working in Russia and shuts down Russians branches of international NGOs and NPOs.

The Prosecutor General’s Office stressed that Transparency International is run by “citizens of foreign countries”.

“It was determined that activities of this organisation clearly overstep its self-declared goals and tasks. Formally being an organisation that fights against corruption globally, it interferes in Russia’s internal affairs which undermines constitutional foundations and security of Russia,” the agency elaborated.

The office did not cite any other reasons behind branding Transparency International “undesirable”.

The Russian Justice Ministry added the Russian office of Transparency International to the list of NPOs operating as “foreign agents” in April 2015.

In January, the anti-corruption NGO published its annual corruption perceptions index. It estimates public sector corruption levels based on expert and business community opinions.

The updated index saw Russia dropping one spot: from 136 in 2021 to 137 in 2022, with its corruption perception index being 28 points. In the reports, Transparency International experts said that corruption in Russia is widespread.