Meeting with Government members 2025-03-05 17:30:00 The Kremlin, Moscow The President held a meeting with Government members, via videoconference. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, good afternoon, As you may have noticed, during today’s meeting of the Interior Ministry Board, we discussed a range of issues, including combating online fraud. Today, we will deliberate on this topic at this level and in this format. Dmitry Grigorenko, Elvira Nabiullina, and Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov are scheduled to deliver remarks. However, first, let us address a few current matters. Last year, we agreed to write off up to two-thirds of the regions’ debts on budget loans, provided that no less than 50 percent of the freed-up funds are allocated to housing and utilities projects. Mr Siluanov, how are things progressing? Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov: Good afternoon, Mr President. Good afternoon, colleagues. Indeed, in the Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Mr President, you instructed us to write off two-thirds of regional budget loans on the condition that the freed-up funding be channelled into infrastructure projects. The amount of such loans exceeds one trillion rubles. This measure will concern 79 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The Government of the Russian Federation has approved the rules for this debt relief. (The Minister further provided detailed information about the intended use of these funds by the regions. This includes expenses in the housing and utilities sector, capitalisation of industrial development funds, support for participants in the special military operation and their families, implementation of urban master plans, and other areas. He emphasised that the current overall regional debt stands at slightly over three trillion roubles, and that this write-off – and the accompanying support – will ease the debt burden by approximately one-third.) Vladimir Putin: At the end of last year – both in a format like this and with business representatives – we discussed economic developments, including the availability of loans, and agreed to pay special attention to supporting individual projects, sectors, and enterprises. In this regard, monitoring the situation with backbone companies is very significant. Mr Novak, how do things stand in this regard? Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak: Mr President, in accordance with your instruction following December’s meeting with the business community, the Government of the Russian Federation has resumed the work of the subcommission on enhancing the resilience of the financial sector and certain economic sectors. It operates under the broader Government commission chaired by the Prime Minister. The key task our subcommission is facing is to assess the current state of the economy as a whole, as well as of individual backbone organisations. We also examine potential risks that could undermine financial and economic stability, and, where necessary, develop support measures for specific industries, companies, or ongoing investment projects. (Alexander Novak reported that nine key economic sectors have currently been reviewed – including industry, transport, agriculture, mechanical engineering, and others. He noted that the overall situation is stable, with no systemic issues identified, but certain sectors and organisations – particularly those facing solvency challenges or requiring loan restructuring – are under special scrutiny. This primarily concerns housing construction, the coal industry, transport engineering, and automotive manufacturing. Over 40 support measures have been formulated to date. The Deputy Prime Minister provided specific examples. In transport engineering, procurement limits for public transport and leasing programmes have been expanded. A decision was made to recapitalise Russian railways by 15 billion roubles to boost demand for locomotives and rolling stock. In housing construction, a Government resolution was adopted to increase the margin ratio of subsidised mortgage programmes. In metallurgy, a list of continuous-cycle enterprises has been compiled to prioritise rail shipments and support export demand. In agriculture, measures are being implemented to aid operating and investment activities, including preferential lending. To improve access to farming machinery, the preferential leasing programme is being recapitalised.) To summarise, monitoring core industries and organisations indicates that the current situation is generally under control and sufficiently stable. In the near future, we plan to assess the status of mineral fertiliser production, fishing vessel construction, housing and utilities, and energy. We will keep you updated, Mr President. Thank you. Vladimir Putin: Good. Thank you very much. I urge you to maintain constant oversight of these matters. One more issue. In September 2020, a mechanism was established allowing citizens to apply through integrated government services centres for debt relief in cases of insolvency – the so-called out-of-court bankruptcy procedure for individuals. I requested Government colleagues to consider extending this programme to participants of the special military operation. (Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov delivered a report on this topic. He stated that the out-of-court bankruptcy mechanism was launched in 2020 to assist bona-fide citizens facing dire financial circumstances and unable to repay accumulated debts. The mechanism continues to be refined. Since 2020, 95,000 procedures have been initiated, with half of applications coming from elderly citizens. To date, debts have been written off for 20,000 pensioners, 4,000 families with children, and 5,000 individuals unable to settle debts for over seven years. In total, 62,000 citizens have received debt relief through this mechanism. Only 0.1 percent of cases are referred to court. The Minister added that, per the President’s instruction, ad hoc conditions for applying this mechanism to participants of the special military operation have now been developed. Last week, the Government endorsed the relevant draft law and submitted it to the State Duma.) Vladimir Putin: Let us discuss measures to combat telephone and online fraud. We have addressed this topic multiple times with the Central Bank Governor. I would ask Ms Nabiullina to begin. (Elvira Nabiullina outlined the measures the Central Bank has already implemented to counter cyber fraud within the banking system, as well as new proposals. These included the introduction of a “cooling-off period” upon detection of suspicious transactions; blocking schemes where individuals, under fraudsters’ influence, independently apply for loans and transfer funds to criminals at their own discretion; practices of self-imposed loan restrictions; criminal liability for drops; and initiatives to improve citizens’ financial literacy. The Central Bank Governor identified two primary areas for further action. First, enhancing banks’ accountability for safeguarding customers’ funds. Second, consolidating efforts between banks and telecom operators. She stressed the importance of financial liability for both banks and operators, as they are the first to detect fraudulent activity within their networks. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko detailed a comprehensive Government draft law aimed at countering cyber fraud. The draft law prioritises providing citizens with straightforward self-protection tools while simultaneously depriving fraudsters of the ability to exploit widely used schemes. The draft law encompasses approximately 30 measures, including, but not limited to: a ban on foreign messaging apps for employees of state agencies, banks, and telecom operators; mandatory caller ID marking for calls from organisations and legal entities; two-factor authentication for accessing personal accounts on the Gosuslugi (public services) portal or banking platforms; restrictions on fraudulent SIM cards registered for third parties using stolen personal data; and biometric verification for identity confirmation in financial transactions. A separate initiative of the Government involves the creation of an anti-fraud platform that would unite banks, telecom operators, law enforcement, and state institutions to coordinate their anti-fraud operations. Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov also addressed the meeting, highlighting the ongoing rise in IT-related crimes. Last year, these offences increased by 13 percent, totalling just over 765,000 incidents. Two-thirds of these crimes involve theft, executed through various social engineering techniques. A significant factor contributing to this increase is the leakage of personal data, which fraudsters exploit to devise personalised attack scenarios targeting citizens, particularly those in socially vulnerable groups. In 2024, more than 110,000 senior citizens fell victim to such targeted attacks. To be continued.