July 29, 2014 - 14:09 AMT
Russia mulls adding ‘aggressor country’ term to legislation

Lawmakers in Russia’s State Duma are considering adding the notion of “aggressor country” to the country’s laws, Izvestia newspaper reported Tuesday, July 29.

According to RIA Novosti, the paper’s sources said an “aggressor country” will be defined as “a state introducing sanctions against the Russian Federation, Russian citizens and Russian legal entities.”

The amendments proposed by United Russia party members Evgeny Fedorov and Anton Romanov will be added into several federal laws including contract law and audit regulations.

“In order to protect the fundamentals of constitutional order, ensure the country’s defense and security and to protect the domestic market as well as the national economic development, the government of Russia will be given a right to approve a list of aggressor countries,” an explanatory note to the bill said.

According to the document, foreign legal entities and individuals registered in the "aggressor country" will be prohibited from providing audit and consulting services in Russia.

Evgeniy Fedorov cited by Izvestia adds that: “All six major U.S. audit and consulting companies working in Russia – and these are Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey – will be included in the list.”

The bill is expected to be sent for government review on Wednesday.