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G20: Russia Urges Members to Approve Anti-Corruption Strategy

Russia has urged G20 members to approve a joint anti-corruption strategy that would, among other things, ban officials from traveling from one country to another if they are suspected of corruption.

Creating measures to fight corruption during construction of large-scale sports facilities is the initiative's other main point.

Russia on Friday proposed creating special bodies authorized to block officials' rights to international travel, said Dmitry Feoktistov, deputy director of the Foreign Ministry's New Challenges and Threats Department.

He said, however, that the creation of such bodies is likely take a long time to set up because countries have different ideas about who can and can't be considered corrupt.

"We hope to begin implementing the plan next year, but there are problems with the definition of people involved in corrupt activity: Whether it's people charged with corruption or people the media suspect of corruption," he said.

Some actions considered to be criminal in Russia are not prosecuted in some other countries, he added.

He avoided answering questions about the Magnitsky Act, which bans certain former Russian officials suspected of stealing $230 million in state funds and violating human rights from getting U.S. visas.

He said that the creation of a global alliance for purity in sport is also a high priority for Russia due to a number of international events taking place in the country, namely, the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and the Kazan Universiade, both of which required high-priced sport facilities to be constructed. 

The building costs for venues in Sochi have allegedly been inflated by large-scale corruption.

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