Russia: problems with submission of reports by ‘foreign agents’
Legal entities and individuals classed as foreign agents still unable to submit reports online
08.07.2024
Article published on the ASI website
A Ministry of Justice Order on the procedure and deadlines for posting reports online came into force in 2022, with the reporting platform meant to be operational last year.
Under the law “On control over the activities of persons under foreign influence”, foreign agents are obliged to post reports on their work online, or place them in the public domain via the media every six months. But at present, only CSOs are able to put their reports on the Ministry of Justice website. In addition, according to the Kommersant newspaper, non-profit organisations can only upload reports in the old format.
The law provides for fines ranging from 30,000 to 150,000 roubles for citizens, and from 300,000 to 500,000 for legal entities who fail to submit reports. Repeated failure to comply with the obligations of a foreign agent will lead to criminal action being taken.
The Ministry of Justice told Kommersant that administrative liability would not apply “if a report is made available to the media for publication or if a hard copy is sent to the department”. The Ministry did not specify how the reports should be given to the media.
The deadline for the submission of six-monthly reports from individuals and legal entities listed on the foreign agents’ register expires on 15 July.
