MOSCOW, February 19 (RAPSI) - A Just Russia party lawmaker Oleg Nilov proposed a bill to allow the confiscation of property, assets owned by relatives of corrupt officials, RIA Novosti reported on Thursday.

Nilov submitted a similar bill in 2013, but the State Duma rejected it. The initiative sets forth a procedure for verifying the legitimacy of property belonging to close relatives of a corrupt official (including parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, full-blood and half-blood siblings) or other individuals whose wellbeing is important to him or her due to personal relationships, if there are enough reasons to assume that the property was obtained through a corruption crime.

This means that if an inspection reveals money, valuables, other property or income of which the legitimacy cannot be confirmed, the property must be confiscated.

Nilov explains that similar measures have been introduced in relation to terrorists, their families and associated individuals.

The parliament member believes that corruption is as damaging to society as terrorism and is particularly threatening in the current economic environment. He says that a similar practice exists in other countries such as Italy, Norway and the US.