Gref: Punishment for the execution of sanctions will scare away investors

The Chairman of the Board of Sberbank German Gref predicted the sale of Russian assets by foreign investors in the event of the adoption of the law on punishment for the enforcement of sanctions in Russia. It is reported by Reuters.

The Law on criminal liability ... will hit all public companies very much, I'm not talking about the banking sector, ”Gref said.“ He will become a problem for all foreign investors. I’m afraid that when choosing - to fall under American sanctions or to write down Russian investments - they will choose the second. ”

"Russia needs foreign investment for development, but foreign investors will not come if they assume that their employees may be criminalized here for the implementation of foreign sanctions," the head of Sberbank continued. "We will not force them to supply services, goods components to our enterprises."

Consequently, he concluded, the new law will damage the Russian economy.

Gref expressed the hope that the bill would be finalized. Sberbank, he said, prepared and sent to the presidential administration, the government, the State Duma and the Central Bank an analytical note about the possible consequences of the adoption of the "sanctions" article of the Criminal Code.

On the eve of the State Duma Council for lawmaking, a re -discussion of the project of this article took place. Representatives of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the "Rossi of Russia", the Chamber of Commerce and Industry asked to mitigate responsibility for following the sanctions. It was proposed, in particular, to replace the criminal punishment with administrative.

The first vice speaker of the State Duma is communist Ivan Melnikov that the punishment for the execution of sanctions should be included in the Code of Administrative Offenses, and criminal liability should be provided only for "incitement" to their introduction.

The first deputy chairman of the United Russia faction Andrei Isaev emphasized that "the punishment for active assistance to impose sanctions, for incitement to sanctions by some Russian citizens should be adopted." According to Isaev, the new text of the bill, finalized according to the results of consultations with the business community, the State Duma will consider next week. The deputy added that the finished project of the "sanctions" article of the Code of Administrative Offenses also exists, but it will not be submitted to the lower house of the parliament until the current bill is considered.

Part 1 of Article 284.2, which is planned to be supplemented by the Criminal Code, provides for up to 4 years of the colony for following foreign sanctions, if these actions or inaction "entailed a restriction or refusal to perform ... ordinary business transactions or transactions", part 2 - up to 3 years for performing the introduction of sanctions, in particular for "providing recommendations and transmitting information that led or could lead to or could lead to information the introduction of restrictive measures. "

On May 15, the bill has already passed the first reading. The second reading was scheduled for May 17, however, after criticism of the document by the presidential administration, the RSPP and banking structures, they decided to discuss the initiative.