Russian Auditors Can Be Obliged To Inform Against Banks And Brokers

Ministry of Finance of Russia drafted the bill, which extends anti-money laundering legislation on auditor firms and individual auditors.

The bill obliges auditors to inform Federal Service for Financial Monitoring of all their suspicions regarding transactions of audited entities, dealing in financial and other property transactions, which can be conducted for money laundering purposes. At the same time the auditors must not disclose the fact of such informing and are liable for non-informing Federal Service for Financial Monitoring of their suspicions regarding money laundering.

The bill also proposes to introduce administrative liability for non-compliance of anti-money laundering legislation by the attorneys, notary public and other professionals who perform business activity in the sphere of legal, account and audit services: warning or penalty from 10,000 to 50,000 rubles.