The Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office said that in 2012 the Investigative Committee achieved good results in a number of areas: closing murder and attempted murder cases, as well as grave and especially grave crimes of the past years.
The Chief of Staff named countering economic crimes one of the Investigative Committee’s priorities. Sergei Ivanov said that in order to investigate cases in this field successfully the Investigative Committee must enhance its interaction with tax authorities and the Interior Ministry, and improve the mechanisms of investigating financial and tax offences.
In addition, the Investigative Committee plays a special role in the investigation of corruption cases. The Chief of Staff emphasised that the public expects greater efficiency from the investigators in combating corruption. No one must be above the law in the fight against corruption, Sergei Ivanov said.
At the same time, the Chief of Staff noted that corruption is a complex crime, and the investigation of corruption cases requires that investigators show utmost professionalism. According to Sergei Ivanov, investigators must continually upgrade the quality of their work. “It is unacceptable that due to investigators’ carelessness and negligence criminal cases fall apart in courts and the individuals who are clearly guilty of offences avoid responsibility,” Sergei Ivanov said. “This violates a crucial legal principle – the inevitability of punishment for committing a crime.”
The Chief of Staff said that any mistakes during the investigation not only harm the reputation of the Investigative Committee and the entire law enforcement system, but also adversely affect state authority in general.
The expanded meeting of the Investigative Committee’s Board was attended by Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev and Deputy Prosecutor General Viktor Grin.
